Harmel report

In late 1966, the approaching 20th anniversary of NATO and the adjustments made necessary by the French decision of 1966 to withdraw from the military integrated structure prompted the Alliance to re-examine its relevance and adaptation to the existing political context. The North Atlantic Council appointed a Special Group to study the work of the Alliance. The series of files, organized into 9 volumes consists of the records created or received by the NATO International Staff and related to the study on the Future Tasks of the Alliance between December 1966 and December 1967. It includes formal and informal documents of the Special Group and of its four Sub-groups as well as documents from the Council, the Secretary General, summary records of private meetings of Permanent Representatives, internal notes and national contributions. The Report on the Future Tasks of the Alliance was presented at the NATO Ministerial Session and after some last amendments was approved by Foreign Affairs Ministers on 14 December 1967 and subsequently released to the press.