Historic NATO documents now available online

The NATO Archives, working in co-operation with the Parallel History Project on NATO and the Warsaw Pact, has recently placed 250 records relating to the so-called 'Harmel Report' on the World Wide Web.

The Harmel Report, formally known as the "Future Tasks of the Alliance," was the product of an unprecedented yearlong study and consultation undertaken in 1966-67 with the member nations of NATO. The objective of this initiative was to conduct a fundamental re-examination of the mandate and role of NATO in light of the changing geopolitical situation. The decisions resulting from this process were, according to many historians, a milestone in the development of East-West détente.

The documents placed on the Parallel History Project website include the records on the launching of the study, the work of the four study groups, national contributions and commentary, and the production and release of the final report in December1967. Through the efforts of the NATO Archives Committee and the NATO Archives, these records were declassified and publicly disclosed in 2001.