as they are now emerging exposes a certain divergence in national views as to the future of the armed forces and, in a broader sense, of that of the Alliance itself. 7. The North Atlantic Assembly has devoted considerable attention to the on-going defence reviews within the Atlantic Alliance, and has sponsored a series of seminars entitled "CIVIL MILITARY RELATIONS: THE NEW ROLES OF THE ARMED FORCES IN THE CHANGING INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT." This Report draws heavily upon the outcome of these seminars which brought together government representatives, military experts and legislators from every NATO member state, as well as NATO officials directly involved in the implementation of the Alliance's new Strategic Concept. Representatives from the Alliance's co-operation partners were also present. Your Rapporteur hopes that this Report will prove particularly useful to the Assembly's members, so that they might assure that their respective parliaments keep in mind the collective interest and the need to maintain certain common criteria during the national defence review process. The outcome of this process will, indeed, determine to what extent NATO will be able to take up its roles and responsibilities in the future. I. MILITARY IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW STRATEGIC CONCEPT 8. NATO's new Strategic Concept defines the Alliance's role in the new strategic environment. It represents a drastic break from the previous NATO strategy of Flexible Response (MC 14/3), adopted in 1967, which was based on the premise of a credible defence and detente through dialogue. These two elements are now joined by a third which emphasizes dialogue with the former Warsaw Pact adversaries.(1) This important document also recognizes the development of the European defence identity and the vital role of the CSCE in the emerging European security architecture. 9. The new Strategic Concept goes a step further in addressing the future roles of the armed forces with its section entitled "GUIDELINES FOR DEFENCE", which listss or adventurers recognize that reaction forces represent a statement of intent and our Alliance's willingness to deploy forces and use military force to accomplish well-defined political objectives."(2) 23. Also, it is evident that NATO's IRF and RRF, in order to be truly effective, will need to be totally, or at least partially, composed of professional soldiers. This requirement is at the source of the debate on the maintenance of conscription in those European countries which have traditionally relied on national service to provide a considerable portion of their armies. The pros and cons of this debate, as well as the demographic and social factors that influences it, are presented below. 3. Augmentation Forces 24. Augmentation forces are mostly national forces, not belonging to the ACE Reaction Forces or to the Main Defence Forces. These North American, Portuguese and, 2under certain circumstances, French and Spanish forces, could be made available to reinforce Alliance forces as operational or strategic reserves. The majority of Augmentation Forces will only be available upon mobilization. C. The Reserve Component 25. The reserve forces of the North Atlantic Alliance have been and remain an essential element for the defence and security of Europe. Now the Alliance's new force structure calls on them to play an increasingly important role in NATO's overall force potential. In accordance with NATO and national defence strategies, Alliance nations plan to reduce active forces by about 40 per cent across-the-board. Consequently, most European countries envisage small, largely professional armies, augmented with significant reserve and mobilization assets, as the eventual long-term solution. 26. However, increased reliance on reserve forces is being looked at not only for their augmentation potential; reserves also represent an attractive cost-effective, combat-capable force that makes the best use of resources in the face of national defence budget reductions. In addition, the mobilization of reserves brings vital citizen involvement and national consensus in support of military deployment in times of crisis. 27. In anticipation of increased interaction between active and reserve forces, programmes for promoting their integration should be developed as a means of achieving greater readiness, training opportunities, and interoperability. The promotion of integration should extend to gradually transferring selected missions of the active forces to the reserves, as well as making modern equipment and high-technology weapons systems available to them for training. Well-equipped and well-trained reservists have demonstrated that they can perform as professional equals in skill and dedication to their active duty counterparts. D. The Future of Conscription 28. The end of the Cold War has eliminated the strategic justification for conscription. In the past, European countries had to rely on a system of mandatory military service in order to provide the necessary number of trained soldiers that would be needed in the event of a large-scale conflict. In the present context of a drastically diminished conventional military threat and long warning times, the concept of conscription has begun to lose the support and validity it used to enjoy. 29. This situation has sparked a debate on the future of conscription in all NATO countries with a tradition of "national service". The debate has gathered momentum as several Alliance countries have already reduced the length of mandatory military service. Germany has reduced the length of service to 12 months, young Frenchmen will now only serve for 10 months, and the Spanish will complete only 9 months. In Portugal the fixed conscription period is now only 4 months but is extendable for a further 4 months on a voluntary basis. These countries are now intensifying their recruitment of volunteers. Belgium has decided to eliminate conscription altogether, joining the United Kingdom, Iceland, Canada and the United States as the only NATO countricekeeping purposes and for the defence of Denmark, the brigade will also form a part of NATO's RRC. The Reaction Brigade, which should be operational by the end of 1995, will be an efficient and flexible force able to operate independently, intervening at short notice for a wide variety of tasks. The relevant legislation for the setting up of the Reaction Brigade is expected to be passed by the Danish parliament this autumn. France 59. The reorganization of the French armed forces is characterized by an intense debate over the future of conscription. France has a long tradition of "national service" dating back to the French Revolution. President Fran ois Mitterrand sees no reason to change compulsory military service, and claims that "nothing can replace the collective effort, without which national defence loses its true sense".(4) In a July Le Figaro poll, 69 per cent of those asked said they hope that the compulsory military service will be maintained. The length of military service in France w