North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on April 4, 1949.
• Its headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium.
• The Treaty of Brussels signed on March 17, 1948, by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and the United Kingdom is considered the precursor to the NATO agreement. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia joined NATO in 2002.
• It may be noted that Montenegro and North Macedonia became the 29th and 30th members of NATO respectively in 2017 and 2020 year.
• Current Members:  Albania (2009), Belgium (1949), Bulgaria (2004), Canada (1949), Crotia (2009), Czech Republic (1999), Denmark (1949), Estonia (2004), France (1949), Germany (1955), Greece (1952), Hungary (1999), Iceland (1949), Italy (1949), Lativa(2004), Lithunia (2004), Luxemberg (1949), Montenegro (2017), Netherlands (1949), North Macedonia (2020), Norway (1949), Poland (1999), Portugal (1949), Romania (2004), Slovakia (2004), Slovenia(2004), Spain (1982), Turkey (1952), UK (1949) and the USA (1949).

NATO Enlargement:

NATO membership is open to “any other European state in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area.”

Basic points of NATO:

1. A Political and Military Alliance: Security in our daily lives is key to our well-being. NATO’s purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. 
2. Collective Defence: NATO is committed to the principle that an attack against one or several of its members is considered an attack against all.
3. The Transatlantic Link: NATO is an alliance of countries from Europe and North America. It provides a unique link between these two continents, enabling them to consult and cooperate in the field of defense and security, and conduct multinational crisis-management operations together.
4. The 2010 Strategic Concept: Strategic Concepts lay down the Alliance’s core tasks and principles, its values, the evolving security environment and the Alliance’s strategic objectives for the next decade.

NATO website: www.nato.int