[147], At the 2022 Madrid summit in June 2022, Turkey agreed to support the membership bids of Finland and Sweden,[148][149] leading to NATO immediately inviting both countries to join the organization without going through the Membership Action Plan process. 1955 - The accession of Germany. NATO formed the backbone of the West's military bulwark against the USSR and its allies for the next 40 years, with its membership growing larger over the course of the Cold War era. Finland joined NATO on 4 April 2023. The alignment of nearly every European nation into one of the two opposing camps formalized the political division of the European continent that had taken place since World War II (1939-45). NATO would defend these countries if they were threatened or attacked. Its original members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal . [185] In June 2014, diplomats from NATO suggested that while a MAP was unlikely, a package of "reinforced cooperation" agreements was a possible compromise. On 2 October 2009, Haris Silajdi, the Bosniak Member of the Presidency, announced official application for Membership Action Plan. As such, the Crown Colony of Malta shared the UK's international memberships, including NATO. [20], Negotiations to reunite East and West Germany took place throughout 1990, resulting in the signing of the Two Plus Four Treaty in September 1990 and East Germany officially joining the Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990. Prime Minister Adolfo Surez, first elected in 1976, proceeded carefully on relations with NATO due to divisions in his coalition over the US-use of bases. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/formation-of-nato-and-warsaw-pact. It was more directly inspired by the rearming of West Germany and its admission into NATO in 1955. [311] In 2014, in the run up to the self-determination referendum, the Generalitat de Catalunya published a memo suggesting an independent Catalonia would want to keep all of Spain's current foreign relationships, including NATO, though other nations, namely Belgium, have questioned whether quick membership for breakaway regions could encourage secessionist movements elsewhere.[312]. ", "Dacic: IPAP, step forward in Serbia-NATO relations", "Institute for European Affairs: Record low support of Serbia NATO cooperation", "NATO-Serbia relations: New strategies or more of the same? Country by country, this page offers an overview of the links to national information servers and to the website of national delegations to NATO. The move was widely supported by the people of the . Ratification of their membership was completed in May 1955. These leaders however guaranteed their opposition that membership in any military alliance would not pass without public approval in a referendum. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 31 independent member countries. Events of the following year prompted American leaders to adopt a more militaristic stance toward the Soviets. [3] As of 15October2022[update], all NATO member states except for Hungary and Turkey have approved the accession of the two countries and deposited their instruments of accession with the Government of the US. When U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson (1893-1971) put his signature on the document, it reflected an important change in American foreign policy. As East Germany collapsed into disorganization, it became increasingly clear that the only way to stabilize the state was for West Germany to absorb the former communist territory. Nato's first aggressive action against a sovereign state took place in 1999, when it bombed targets in Yugoslavia in an attempt to halt that country's policy of "ethnic cleansing" in Kosovo. The USSR oversaw the installation of pro-Soviet governments in many of the areas it had taken from the Nazis during the war. Since that country's dissolution most of its successor states have joined NATO, but the largest of them, Serbia, has maintained Yugoslavia's policy of neutrality. When did Poland become a member of NATO? - Alexander Rekeda [239] In May 2022, Cyprus Defence Minister, Charalambos Petrides, confirmed that the country would not apply to NATO despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine. West Germany formally joined NATO on May 5, 1955, and the Warsaw Pact was signed less than two weeks later, on May 14. The treaty . Between 1952 and 1965, the headquarters of the Allied Forces Mediterranean was based in the town of Floriana, just outside Malta's capital of Valletta. At the 2008 Bucharest summit, Greece blocked a proposed invitation because it believed that its neighbor's constitutional name implies territorial aspirations toward its own region of Greek Macedonia. [267][268], This friendly policy changed in 1971, when Dom Mintoff, of the Labour Party, was elected as prime minister. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. [255], According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Enver Hoxhaj, integration with NATO is a priority for Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008. In February 1981, following a failed coup attempt, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo became Prime Minister and campaigned strongly for NATO membership, in part to improve civilian control over the military, and Spain's NATO membership was approved in June 1982. [63] Croatia's prospect of membership sparked a national debate on whether a referendum on NATO membership needed to be held before joining the organization. Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Enlargement_of_NATO&oldid=1152325818, Enlargement of intergovernmental organizations, Events affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia extended-confirmed-protected pages, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2022, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from March 2022, Articles containing potentially dated statements from October 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Willingness to settle international, ethnic or external territorial disputes by peaceful means, commitment to the rule of law and human rights, and democratic control of armed forces, Ability to contribute to the organization's defense and missions, Devotion of sufficient resources to armed forces to be able to meet the commitments of membership, Security of sensitive information, and safeguards ensuring it, Compatibility of domestic legislation with NATO cooperation, Goldgeier, James.