§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many of the exercises conducted by NATO under the Partnership For Peace programmes are funded in whole or in part directly by the United States and not through NATO channels, and what oversight does NATO have of the proposed participants, scenarios and related matters.
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Gilbert)NATO-directed Partnership for Peace (PfP) exercises are open to all Allied and Partner nations. Exercise proposals and plans are approved by NATO. Costs are borne by participating nations, and by NATO common funding. Twenty-three such exercises are planned for this year.
In addition, there are a wide range of activities "in the spirit of PfP. These will not he open to all Allies and Partners. Funding, planning and conduct are the responsibility of participating nations. There are likely to be about 20 such activities this year, many of which are made possible by the generous support of the United States.