What is NATO?

The United States, Canada and various western European countries formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949, in response to the perceived threat of the Soviet Union’s expansion in post-war Europe.

There are currently 30 members in NATO, and according to article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty, any European country that can “contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area” can join the alliance.

However, accession requires the approval of each member state. In 2008, Greece vetoed North Macedonia’s bid to join NATO due to a long-term dispute over the country’s name, ‘Macedonia’. Only in 2018, when the country changed its name to North Macedonia, did Greece grant its approval, after which the country was officially admitted as a member in March 2020.

NATO is essentially a collective security alliance, with its members committed to mutual defence if any one of them is attacked by an external force.

The alliance’s chief principle of collective defence is laid out in article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty: “The parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the party or parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.”