November 26, 2024
Headlines

NATO

NATO Logo

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

https://www.nato.int

NATO is a political and military alliance of countries from Europe and North America. Its members are committed to protecting each other from any threat.

NATO has just celebrated 75 years of the treaty that was put in place in 1949.

On 4 April 1949, the original 12 countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington DC.

The Treaty committed each member to share the risk, responsibilities and benefits of collective defence. In 1949, the primary aim of the Treaty was to create a pact of mutual assistance to counter the risk that the Soviet Union would seek to extend its control of Eastern Europe to other parts of the continent.

The Treaty also required members not to enter into any international commitments that conflicted with the Treaty and committed them to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations (UN).  Also, it stated that NATO members formed a unique community of values committed to the principles of individual liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

In addition to collective defence and key values, the principle of consensus decision-making and the importance of consultation define the spirit of the Organization, together with its defensive nature and its flexibility.

The signing of the Treaty led to the creation of the Alliance and, only later, did a fully-fledged organisation develop. In effect, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) provides the structure which enables the goals of the Alliance to be implemented. To date, those goals have not fundamentally changed nor the Treaty been rewritten.

32 Countries are currently members.

  • ALBANIA (2009)
  • BELGIUM (1949)
  • BULGARIA (2004)
  • CANADA (1949)
  • CROATIA (2009)
  • CZECHIA (1999)
  • DENMARK (1949)
  • ESTONIA (2004)
  • FINLAND (2023)
  • FRANCE (1949)
  • GERMANY (1955)
  • GREECE (1952)
  • HUNGARY (1999)
  • ICELAND (1949)
  • ITALY (1949)
  • LATVIA (2004)
  • LITHUANIA (2004)
  • LUXEMBOURG (1949)
  • MONTENEGRO (2017)
  • NETHERLANDS (1949)
  • NORTH MACEDONIA (2020)
  • NORWAY (1949)
  • POLAND (1999)
  • PORTUGAL (1949)
  • ROMANIA (2004)
  • SLOVAKIA (2004)
  • SLOVENIA (2004)
  • SPAIN (1982)
  • SWEDEN (2024)
  • TÜRKIYE (1952)
  • UNITED KINGDOM (1949)
  • UNITED STATES (1949)

Ukraine could be a possible new member of NATO, and many think this is the reason behind the Russian invasion of its country in 2022