would defend NATO despite Trump's criticism, Europeans believe: study, Reuters ^ Support for NATO is widespread among member nations, Pew Research.^ Shaken by Trump's Criticism of NATO, Europe Mulls Building Own Military Force, Voice Of America.^ Former US ambassador to Nato in withering criticism of Donald Trump, The Independent.^ NATO allies boost defense spending in the wake of Trump criticism, The Washington Post.^ Where Does The Relationship Between NATO And The U.S.
Seven of these countries joined in the fifth enlargement in 2004. After this fourth enlargement in 1999, the Vilnius group of the Baltics and seven East European countries formed in May 2000 to cooperate and lobby for further NATO membership. In 1997, three former Warsaw Pact countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland, were invited to join NATO. Between 19, wider forums for regional cooperation between NATO and its neighbours were set up, including the Partnership for Peace, the Mediterranean Dialogue initiative and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. In 1990, with the reunification of Germany, NATO grew to include the former country of East Germany. In 1952, Greece and Turkey became members of the Alliance, joined later by West Germany (in 1955) and Spain (in 1982). Twelve countries took part in the founding of NATO: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. NATO has added new members eight times since its foundation in 1949 with a current total of 30 members. After the end of the Cold War, NATO added 14 more members from 1999 to 2020. Three more members joined between 19, and a fourth new member joined in 1982. NATO has 12 original founding member states. Three of NATO's members are nuclear weapons states: France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. All members have militaries, except for Iceland, which does not have a typical army (but it does have a coast guard and a small unit of civilian specialists for NATO operations). Of the 30 member countries, 27 are mainly located in Europe, two in North America, and one in Asia. Article Five of the treaty states that if an armed attack occurs against one of the member states, it shall be considered an attack against all members, and other members shall assist the attacked member, with armed forces if necessary. It was established at the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is an international alliance that consists of 30 member states from Europe, North America, and Asia.
Dark blue marks countries that were already NATO members at the given time. Timeline of countries becoming NATO members as of 2020.