Arianiti
05-18-2014, 11:10 AM
NATO MEMBERS
The most important players in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are the member countries themselves.
BELGIUM (1949)
CANADA (1949)
DENMARK (1949)
FRANCE (1949)
ICELAND (1949)
ITALY (1949)
LUXEMBOURG (1949)
NETHERLANDS (1949)
NORWAY (1949)
PORTUGAL (1949)
THE UNITED KINGDOM (1949)
THE UNITED STATES (1949)
GREECE (1952)
TURKEY (1952)
GERMANY (1955)
SPAIN (1982)
CZECH REPUBLIC (1999)
HUNGARY (1999)
POLAND (1999)
BULGARIA (2004)
ESTONIA (2004)
LATVIA (2004)
LITHUANIA (2004)
ROMANIA (2004)
SLOVAKIA (2004)
SLOVENIA (2004)
ALBANIA (2009)
CROATIA (2009)
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.”
NATO also has what it calls the Membership Action Plan (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_37356.htm), which offers aspiring members practical advice and targeted assistance. In turn, aspiring members are expected to meet certain key requirements.
BASIC POINTS
A POLITICAL AND MILITARY ALLIANCE
NATO’s essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
POLITICAL - NATO promotes democratic values and encourages consultation (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49187.htm) and cooperation on defence and security issues to build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
MILITARY - NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military capacity needed to undertake crisis-management (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49192.htm) operations. These are carried out under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/official_texts_17120.htm) - NATO’s founding treaty - or under a UN mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organizations.
COLLECTIVE DEFENCE
NATO is committed to the principle that an attack against one or several members is considered as an attack against all. This is the principle of collective defense (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_59378.htm), which is enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.
So far, Article 5 has been invoked once - in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
THE TRANSATLANTIC LINK
NATO is an alliance of countries from Europe and North America. It provides a unique link between these two continents for consultation and cooperation in the field of defence and security, and the conduct of multinational crisis-management operations.
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. The 2010 Strategic Concept (http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_publications/20120214_strategic-concept-2010-eng.pdf) defines NATO’s cores tasks as: collective defence, crisis-management and cooperative security.
ACTIVITIES
DECISIONS AND CONSULTATIONS
NATO provides a unique opportunity for member countries to consult and take decisions on security issues at all levels and in a variety of fields.
A “NATO decision” is the expression of the collective will of all 28 member countries since all decisions are taken by consensus (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49178.htm).
Each day, hundreds of civilian and military experts and officials come to NATO HQs to exchange information, share ideas and help prepare decisions when needed, in cooperation with national delegations and the staff at NATO HQs.
OPERATIONS AND MISSIONS
Afghanistan - Kosovo
Counter-piracy - Monitoring the Mediterranean
Supporting the African Union
NATO takes an active role in a broad range of crisis-management operations and missions (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_52060.htm), including civil emergency operations.
NATO’s crisis-management operations are carried out under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a UN mandate.
PARTNERSHIPS
Partnerships (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/81850.htm) have been formed with countries willing to work and develop a relationship with NATO. These countries stretch from the Atlantic to Central Asia and from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. NATO is also cooperating with a wide network of international organisations (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_51633.htm).
Partner countries do not have the same decision-making authority as member countries.
DEVELOPING THE MEANS TO RESPOND TO THREATS
NATO has been engaged in continuous transformation for many years to ensure it has the policies, capabilities (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49137.htm) and structures required to deal with current and future threats, including the collective defence of its members.
For more: http://www.nato.int/nato-welcome/
The most important players in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are the member countries themselves.
BELGIUM (1949)
CANADA (1949)
DENMARK (1949)
FRANCE (1949)
ICELAND (1949)
ITALY (1949)
LUXEMBOURG (1949)
NETHERLANDS (1949)
NORWAY (1949)
PORTUGAL (1949)
THE UNITED KINGDOM (1949)
THE UNITED STATES (1949)
GREECE (1952)
TURKEY (1952)
GERMANY (1955)
SPAIN (1982)
CZECH REPUBLIC (1999)
HUNGARY (1999)
POLAND (1999)
BULGARIA (2004)
ESTONIA (2004)
LATVIA (2004)
LITHUANIA (2004)
ROMANIA (2004)
SLOVAKIA (2004)
SLOVENIA (2004)
ALBANIA (2009)
CROATIA (2009)
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.”
NATO also has what it calls the Membership Action Plan (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_37356.htm), which offers aspiring members practical advice and targeted assistance. In turn, aspiring members are expected to meet certain key requirements.
BASIC POINTS
A POLITICAL AND MILITARY ALLIANCE
NATO’s essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
POLITICAL - NATO promotes democratic values and encourages consultation (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49187.htm) and cooperation on defence and security issues to build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
MILITARY - NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military capacity needed to undertake crisis-management (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49192.htm) operations. These are carried out under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/official_texts_17120.htm) - NATO’s founding treaty - or under a UN mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organizations.
COLLECTIVE DEFENCE
NATO is committed to the principle that an attack against one or several members is considered as an attack against all. This is the principle of collective defense (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_59378.htm), which is enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.
So far, Article 5 has been invoked once - in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
THE TRANSATLANTIC LINK
NATO is an alliance of countries from Europe and North America. It provides a unique link between these two continents for consultation and cooperation in the field of defence and security, and the conduct of multinational crisis-management operations.
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. The 2010 Strategic Concept (http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_publications/20120214_strategic-concept-2010-eng.pdf) defines NATO’s cores tasks as: collective defence, crisis-management and cooperative security.
ACTIVITIES
DECISIONS AND CONSULTATIONS
NATO provides a unique opportunity for member countries to consult and take decisions on security issues at all levels and in a variety of fields.
A “NATO decision” is the expression of the collective will of all 28 member countries since all decisions are taken by consensus (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49178.htm).
Each day, hundreds of civilian and military experts and officials come to NATO HQs to exchange information, share ideas and help prepare decisions when needed, in cooperation with national delegations and the staff at NATO HQs.
OPERATIONS AND MISSIONS
Afghanistan - Kosovo
Counter-piracy - Monitoring the Mediterranean
Supporting the African Union
NATO takes an active role in a broad range of crisis-management operations and missions (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_52060.htm), including civil emergency operations.
NATO’s crisis-management operations are carried out under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a UN mandate.
PARTNERSHIPS
Partnerships (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/81850.htm) have been formed with countries willing to work and develop a relationship with NATO. These countries stretch from the Atlantic to Central Asia and from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean. NATO is also cooperating with a wide network of international organisations (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_51633.htm).
Partner countries do not have the same decision-making authority as member countries.
DEVELOPING THE MEANS TO RESPOND TO THREATS
NATO has been engaged in continuous transformation for many years to ensure it has the policies, capabilities (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49137.htm) and structures required to deal with current and future threats, including the collective defence of its members.
For more: http://www.nato.int/nato-welcome/