Day two and three of the Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly were dedicated to work in the committees. Meetings of Defence and Security Committee, Economics and Security Committee, Science and Technology Committee, Committee on Civil Dimension of Security, and Political Committee were held. The delegates considered the Comments of the NATO Secretary General and the Chair of the North Atlantic Council to the Political Recommendation adopted by NATO PA in 2016.

First part of the sessions of the said working bodies was marked by consideration of proposal of minutes from the committee meetings held during the 62nd Annual Session of the NATO PA in Istanbul, Turkey, from 18 to 21 November 2016, while the final part dealt with issues of upcoming activities.

The session of the Defence and Security Committee was started by the opening remarks of the Chairperson Mr Raymond Knops , Netherlands, followed by the panel discussion by Minister of Defence of Georgia Mr Levan Izoria on “Georgian Defence Priorities in the Face of Near and Long-Term Challenges”, and by Chief of the General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces Mr Vladimer Chachibaia on “The Georgian Armed Forces Today”.

Then the delegates were presented the draft General Report by General Rapporteur Mr Joseph A. Day , Canada, on “Ballistic Missile Defence and NATO” as well as draft Special Report by Special Rapporteur Mr Wolfgang Hellmich , Germany, on “Afghanistan”, who, among other things, pointed out that the overview of the Afghan security sector in 2016 showed that the current balance of forces in the field still represented a form of support to the government in Kabul, and that the lasting peace represented implementation of the previously determined goal. It is also said that the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces provided defence from the threat of insurgents and terrorist groups in the country, and that they altogether increased the hope that the end goal - peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan - was still achievable. Based on the draft Report and the discussion that followed, the participants in the session jointly noted that in the upcoming period the international forces would play a key role in this issue and, in order to achieve the end goal, would provide support on several levels: expert, educational, and practical.

This was followed by the address of Lecturer in Peace and Development Studies, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Limerick Ms Myriam Benraad on “The Islamic State: Metamorphoses and Consequences for NATO Member States”.

The continuation of the meeting was marked by consideration of the draft Report of the Sub-Committee on Future Security and Defence Capabilities by Rapporteur Ms Madeleine Moon , United Kingdom, which on this occasion was presented by Mr Gilbert le Bris , France, on “The Space Domain and Allied Defence”, as well as of the draft Report of the Sub-Committee on Transatlantic Defence and Security Cooperation by Rapporteur Mr Attila Mesterhazy , Hungary, on “NATO-EU Cooperation after Warsaw”, which on this occasion was presented by Ms Angelien Eijsink , Netherlands.

The meeting of the Economics and Security Committee started with opening remarks by its Chairperson Mr Faik Oztrak , Turkey, followed by the discussion on “Assessment of the Georgian Economic Reform Agenda”, by panelist Mr Kakha Gogolashvili, Director of EU Studies at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, and then on “Potential Economic Consequences of Climate Change and Climate Change Mitigation” by Mr Marshall Burke, Assistant Professor, Department of Earth System Science, and Fellow, Center on Food Security and the Environment, Stanford University.

The meeting was continued with the discussion on “Putting Europe’s Defense Industrial Base on a Stronger Footing and the Implications for Burdensharing”, presented by Mr Dick Zandee, Senior Research Fellow, Netherlands Institute of International Relations, Clingendael, and the consideration of the draft Report of the Sub-Committee on Transition and Development by Rapporteur Mr Richard Benyon , United Kingdom, presented by the Chairperson of the Sub-Committee Mr Menoo Knip , Netherlands, on “Economic Transition in the Western Balkans: An Assessment”, which, among other things, notes that the Western Balkans still represented an area of particular significance for NATO, whose first military engagement in this area related to the early stages of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 and after during the conflict in Kosovo. This context notes permanent efforts of the governments in the region to consolidate fragile democracies and build market relations capable for providing results on the European and global level. During the discussion on the document, participants in the meeting noted that, in the previous period, both the EU and NATO, as well as a series of other international stakeholders, had played a significant role in providing support to peace and stability in the Western Balkans region, including the support regarding post-conflict development and economic transition.

This was followed by consideration of the draft Report of the Sub-Committee on Transatlantic Economic Relations by Rapporteur for this occasion Ms Lilja Alfredsdottir , Iceland, on “Assessing and Mitigating the Cost of Climate Change”, and then of the General Report by the General Rapporteur Ms Jean-Marie Bockel , France, on “The State of Europe’s Defence Industrial Base“.

During the meeting of the Science and Technology Committee, the opening remarks were given by the Chairperson Mr Philippe Vitel , France, followed by the panel discussion presented via address by Senior Research Fellow, Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael’ Mr Dick Zandee on “The Future of European Defence Research and Development and implications for Burdensharing”. Then the delegates considered the draft General Report by General Rapporteur Mr Thomas Marino , USA, on “Maintaining NATO’s Technology Edge: Strategic Adaptation and Defence Research & Development”, and Director of the Strategic Research Center Mr Irakli Menagharishvili on “Russian Military Modernisation and the Black Sea Region”.

Continuation of the meeting was marked by consideration of the draft Report of the Sub-Committee on Technology Trends and Security on “The Internet of Things: Promises and Perils of a Disruptive Technology”, by Rapporteur Matej Tonin , Slovenia, which noted that the number of internet devices today was twice as big as the world’s population, of 7.4 billion people, and the the networked “smart” devices and technology, also known as the Internet of things, represented a great promise but also a complex security challenge. During the discussion at the meeting, with note that this draft report was based on the Special Report of the Science and Technology Committee from 2014 titled “Cyber Space and Euro-Atlantic Security”, the delegates discussed the bases of the IoT, its current challenges, and European and NATO efforts for issues of armed forces in this context etc. Based on this document and the discussion that followed the Committee members also discussed the preliminary conclusions for policy-makers and emphasised that, as commercial adoption accelerates for these devices, NATO member states and the Alliance as a whole must continuously undertake activities to maintain the readiness level to adapt and integrate new technologies and provide answers to the said question, at the highest level.

This was followed by the panel discussion on “Effects of Climate Change on Food and Water Safety” introduced in the discussion by the presentation of Mr Marshall Burke, Assistant Professor, Department of Earth System Science, and Fellow, Center on Food Security and the Environment, Stanford University, and the final part of this Committee’s meeting was marked by consideration of the Draft Special Report on “Food and Water Security in the Middle East and North Africa” by Special Rapporteur Mr Osman Askin Bak, Turkey.

During the meeting of the Committee on Civil Dimension of Security chaired by Mr Vitalino Canas , Portugal, the delegates were addressed by State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality Mr Ketevan Tsikhelashvili with presentation on “Georgia’s Strategy Regarding Occupied Territories”, and then Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia, Ambassador Mr Kestutis Jankauskas on “The Current Security Situation in the Field”. This was followed by the panel discussion of participants, started by the opening remarks by Chairperson of the Georgian Young Lawyers‘ Association Ms Ana Natsvlishvili on “The Consolidation of Georgian Democracy and the Rule of Law”, and then consideration of the draft Special Report by Special Rapporteur Ms Ulla Schmidt , Germany, on “Advancing Stability in the Black Sea Region”.

The continuation of this Committee’s meeting was marked by consideration of the draft General Report by General Rapporteur Ms Joëlle Garriaud Maylam , France, on “The War in Syria and Iraq: Humanitarian Aspects”, and of the draft Report of the Sub-Committee on Democratic Governance by Rapporteur Ms Jane Cordy , Canada, on “The Social Media Revolution: Political and Security Implications”, in which it was noted that the explosion of social media, as any other technological invention, provided numerous challenges and opportunities for decreasing the cost for people to communicate and very effectively share information on all levels, such as Twitter and Facebook, but also for enabling hostile actors to implement their own plans and agenda. Based on the submitted document and the discussion that followed, the delegates noted that the subject report was aimed at raising awareness from the subject area and launching discussions within the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in this regard, in order to exchange opinions and best practices and find effective solutions to fight against the malicious use of social media, especially bearing in mind the level of social danger brought by these phenomena.

Then the participants in the meeting were addressed by representative of the Danish Defence College, Special Consultant Mr Thomas Elkjer Nissen on “Weapons in Social Media”.

During the meeting of the Political Committee chaired by Mr Ojars Eriks Kalnins , Lithuania, the participants were addressed on “Georgia’s Foreign and Security Priorities” by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Mr Mikheil Janelidze , followed by the discussion on the Draft General Report by General Rapporteur Ms Rasa Jukneviciene , Lithuania, on “Russia: from Partner to Competitor”.

The continuation of the meeting was marked by presentation by representative of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Senior Fellow Mr Markus Kaim on “The Role of NATO Partnerships in a Changing Security Environment”, and then consideration of the Draft Report of the Sub-Committee on NATO Partnerships by Rapporteur Mr Julio Miranda Calha , Portugal, on “Tackling the Challenges from the South”, which pointed out that violent conflicts and instability, especially in Syria and Iraq, continued to destabilise the Middle East and North Africa region. In that respect, the delegates pointed out that the violence in this region continued to present danger and continuous threat for the overall order, to create humanitarian crises, political tension and security risks, and that instability and growing transnational threats all over the Middle East and North Africa had very negative consequences on the global level.

The final portion of the meeting of the Political Committee was marked by the presentation on “Transatlantic Relations in Transition” by Professor of International Relations at Kadir Has University, Istanbul, Turkey, Mr Soli Özel and then by consideration of the Draft Report of the Sub-Committee on Transatlantic Relations of Rapporteur Mr Gerald E. Connolly , USA, on “NATO and Security in the Arctic”.

On the margins of the Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, 28 May 2017, the Permanent Delegation of the Parliament of Montenegro, on their request, met with the Delegation of the European Parliament in the following composition Mr Zdzislaw Krasnodebski of European Conservatives and Reformists Group from Poland, Mr Jozo Radoš representative of Liberals from Croatia, and Mr Jonas Fernández of the Socialist Party from Spain, during which they exchanged opinions on the current political situation in Montenegro, the process of Euro-Atlantic integration and Montenegro’s membership in NATO, they shared the support of European parliamentarians to their Montenegrin colleagues for what they had done in this regard, and showed interest in activities planned for the upcoming period.

The Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly will be continued tomorrow, when the Plenary Session is to be held.