The Comprehensive Political Guidance (CPG) is NATO's major 10-15 year policy document that sets the framework for Alliance capabilities, planning, and intelligence. It analyzes the future security environment and outlines the types of operations NATO must be able to conduct based on the Strategic Concept. The CPG defines NATO's top capability priorities as expeditionary forces. It is implemented through the defense planning process and a CPG Management Mechanism monitors fulfillment of capabilities and improves processes. The 2006 CPG was agreed to by NATO members and endorsed by Defense Ministers.

1. COMPREHENSIVE POLITICAL NATO
North Atlantic Treaty
GUIDANCE Organization

2. THE COMPREHENSIVE POLITICAL GUIDANCE
The Comprehensive Political Guidance is a major policy document that sets out the
framework and priorities for all Alliance capability issues, planning disciplines and
intelligence for the next 10 to 15 years.
It analyses the probable future security environment, but acknowledges the possibility
of unpredictable events.
Against that analysis, it sets out the kinds of operations the Alliance must be able to
perform in light of the Alliance’s Strategic Concept and the kinds of capabilities the
Alliance will need.

3. THE COMPREHENSIVE POLITICAL GUIDANCE
An evolving strategic context
Providing the means to implement the objectives
Adoption of the Comprehensive Political Guidance

4. AN EVOLVING STRATEGIC CONTEXT
The threats, risks and challenges now faced by the Allies are very different from those of the
Cold War.
NATO no longer perceives large-scale conventional military threats to Alliance territory.
Instead, today’s security threats include
 instability,
 ethnic and religious-based rivalries,
 competition for natural resources,
 the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
 failed states,
 genocide,
 mass migration,
 organized crime,
 cyber attacks and
 terrorism.

5. AN EVOLVING STRATEGIC CONTEXT
The challenge is to cope with an ever-increasing set of demands and with new types of
operations.
That is why Allies are committed to pursuing the transformation of their forces: current and
future operations will continue to require
 agile and interoperable,
 well-trained and
 well-led military forces –
 forces that are
 modern,
 deployable,
 sustainable and
 available to undertake demanding operations far from home bases.
This also places a premium on close coordination and cooperation among international
organizations and of particular importance to NATO is its relationship with the United
Nations and the European Union.

6. PROVIDING THE MEANS TO IMPLEMENT THE OBJECTIVES
Capability requirements
The defence planning process
The CPG Management Mechanism

7. CAPABILITY REQUIREMENTS
The Comprehensive Political Guidance (CPG) sets out the kinds of operations the Alliance
must be able to perform in the future and, as a logical consequence of that vision, the kinds
of capabilities the Alliance will need.
It defines NATO’s top priorities among those requirements, starting with expeditionary forces
and the capability to deploy and sustain them.
These capability requirements are expressed broadly. How specifically these capabilities
will be filled is left open, since that is for members to determine both individually and
collectively through NATO’s defence planning process.

8. THE DEFENCE PLANNING PROCESS
As such, the defence planning process is also under review to guarantee that NATO has
effective military capabilities for defence and deterrence, as well as to fulfill the full range
of its missions.
The defence planning process comprises a number of planning disciplines including
 armaments,
 civil emergency planning,
 consultation,
 command and control,
 logistics and resource,
 nuclear and force planning.
 Subordinate documents, such as Ministerial Guidance, provide more detailed, quantitative and qualitative
guidance. Usually provided every four years, Ministerial Guidance establishes the Alliance level of ambition in
military terms and provides further strategic level politico-military direction for relevant planning disciplines.
This provides the basis for specific requirements to be set by the NATO force planning system for those member
countries engaged in collective force planning. The system then later assesses their ability to meet these
planning targets through a biennial defence review process.

9. THE DEFENCE PLANNING PROCESS
Building on the CPG, new Ministerial Guidance was agreed in June 2006.
It seeks to provide NATO with the ability to conduct a greater number of smaller-scale
operations, while retaining its ability to carry out larger operations.
In addition, future planning targets will embrace the further transformation of the Alliance
and will continue to seek to improve NATO’s capabilities to pursue the sort of expeditionary
operations in which it is currently engaged.

10. THE CPG MANAGEMENT MECHANISM
The implementation of the CPG, both within the Alliance proper and by the Allies themselves
is crucial. Ultimately, implementation should lead to the development of more usable
capabilities for future operations and missions, thereby ensuring that the Alliance remains
effective, credible and relevant in the 21st century. To this end, in February 2006, a CPG
Management Mechanism was established.
Two aspects of the implementation of the CPG are being pursued: monitoring and
evaluating the actual fulfillment of the required capabilities; and improving NATO’s
processes for identifying, developing and delivering the required capabilities.

11. ADOPTION OF THE COMPREHENSIVE POLITICAL GUIDANCE
The CPG was agreed on 21 December 2005 by the 26 NATO member countries.
It was endorsed by NATO Defence Ministers at their June 2006 meeting at NATO
Headquarters in