NATONorth
Atlantic
Treaty
Organization
Prepared by:
JOE KENNETH A. ESPARTERO
BSED - FILIPINO

OVERVIEW
MEMBER COUNTRIES
NATO ACTIVITIES
KEY EVENTS
WORKING STRUCTURES

BRUSSELS TREATY

BRUSSELS TREATY
Brussels Treaty (1948) is an
agreement by United Kingdom, France,
Belgium, the Netherlands, and
Luxembourg, creating a collective defense
alliance. It led to the formation of NATO
and the Western European Union. A goal
of the treaty was to show that western
European states could cooperate, thus
encouraging United States to play a role in
the security of western EuropeERNEST BEVIN
Former Foreign Secretary of UK

NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY 1949
“To maintain friendly relation and
economic cooperation with one another, to
consult together whenever the territory or
independence of any of them is threatened and
to come to the aid of any one of them who may
be attack”.
- President Harry Truman
Harry Truman
US President (1945-1953)

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
OTAN - Organisation du Traité de l’Atlantique
 A political organization (diplomacy, dialogue, cooperation)
 A military organization (defense, crisis management, capabilities)
 Member countries working together
 Sharing common values (democracy, heritage, peace/stability, freedom)
 The principle of collective defense
 Combats new threats
 All members are DEMOCRACIES.

DEMOCRACY
Democracy is a
system of
government
where the
citizens exercise
power by
voting.

 According to Achilles, another important author
of the treaty was John D. Hickerson
 The treaty was signed in Washington, D.C. on 4th
day of April 1949 by a committee which was
chaired by US diplomat Theodore Achilles.
Theodore Achilles John D. Hickerson

Where is NATO
headquarters?
- Brussels, Belgium

What language is
spoken at NATO?
- English, French

 The North Atlantic Treaty, also referred to as
the Washington Treaty, is the treaty that forms the
legal basis of, and is implemented by, the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
 The treaty was signed in Washington, D.C. on 4th
day of April 1949.
 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
started as military alliance consisting of United
States, Canada and 10 countries in Europe.
 NATO was set up to discourage an attack by the
Soviet Union on the non-Communist nations of
North America and Europe.
NATO’s Beginnings…

THE COLD WAR

THE COLD WAR
 After World War II ended, a distrust developed between
 Communist countries, led by the Soviet Union, and
 Non-Communist nations, led by the United States.
 This rivalry became known as the “Cold War”
 No NATO member was ever attacked during the Cold War –
it never had to use its military forces

THE WARSAW PACT
 1955 – The Warsaw Pact was the Soviet response to the creation of
NATO
 Consisted of the Soviet Union and its six satellite countries in Eastern
Europe
 East Germany
 Poland
 Hungary
 Czechoslovakia
 Bulgaria
 Romania
 The Warsaw` Pact collapsed (December 26, 1991)
HOME

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.”

 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)
FOUNDING MEMBERS
The following twelve states signed the treaty and thus became the founding members of
NATO. The following leaders signed the agreement as plenipotentiaries of their countries
in Washington, D.C.

LATER MEMBERS
The following 17 states joined the
treaty after the 12 founding states:
 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)
 MONTENEGRO (2017)

Of the 29 member countries, two are located
in North America (Canada and the United States), 26 are
in Europe, and one is in Eurasia (Turkey).
All members have militaries, except
for Iceland which does not have a typical army (but does,
however, have a coast guard and a small unit of civilian
specialists for NATO operations).
Three of NATO's members are nuclear weapons
states: France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
NATO has 12 original founding member nation states, and
from 18 February 1952 to 6 May 1955, it added three more
member nations, and a fourth on 30 May 1982.
After the end of the Cold War, NATO added 13 more
member nations (10 former Warsaw Pact members and three
former Yugoslav republics) from 12 March 1999 to 5 June
2017.

The NATO Alliance (1949 – 2017) HOME

NATO ACTIVITIES
Every day, member countries 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 29
member countries since
all decisions are taken by
consensus.

What does NATO do?
Promotes dialogue and
cooperation
Prevents conflicts through
diplomacy
Helps to rebuild world areas in
need
HOME

KEY EVENTS

1949 Signing of Washington Treaty, April 4

1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall

1991
NATO develops partnerships with former adversaries after the
break-up of the Soviet Union

1995
NATO engages in its first major crisis-management operation
in Bosnia and Herzegovina

2001
Large-scale terrorist attacks in New York and Washington
D.C.
NATO invokes Article 5 for the first time ever and adopts a
broader approach to security

2003
NATO takes Command of the International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan

 ISAF’s mission (August 2003 – December
2014) was to enable the Afghan authorities
and build the capacity of the Afghan
national security forces to provide effective
security, so as to ensure that Afghanistan
would never again be a safe haven for
terrorist.
 ISAF is NATO’s longest and most
challenging mission to date: at its height,
the force was more than 130,000 strong
with troops from 50 NATO and partner
nations.

2010
NATO adopts the 2010 Strategic Concept “Active
Engagement, Modern Defense”

NATO will continue to play its
unique and essential role in ensuring
common defense and security.
This Strategic Concept will guide the
next phase in NATO’s evolution, so
that it continues to be effective in a
changing world, against new threats,
with new capabilities and new
partners.
HOME

WORKING
STRUCTURES

NATO DELEGATIONS
 Each member country has a permanent
delegation at NATO’s political headquarters in
Brussels. Each delegation is headed by an
“ambassador”, who represent his/her
government in the Alliance’s consultation and
decision-making process.
THE NUCLEAR PLANNING GROUP
 The Nuclear Planning Group has the same
authority as the North Atlantic Council with
regard to nuclear policy issues.

THE NAC: AT THE HEART OF NATO
 The North Atlantic Council (NAC) is the
principal political decision-making body at
NATO. Each member country has a seat at the
NAC.
 It meets at least once a week or whenever the
need arises, at different levels. It is claimed by
the Secretary General who helps members
reach agreement on key issues.
SUBORDINATE COMMITTEES
 NATO has a network of committees to deal
with all subjects on its agenda, from political
to more technical issues. They bring national
representatives and experts from all NATO
member countries together on a regular basis.

NATO AGENCIES
 NATO agencies and organizations
play a vital role in procuring and
sustaining capabilities collectively.
They specialize in technical fields
that complement and form an
integral part of NATO’s agenda:
procurement, support and
communications and information.

THE SECRETARY GENERAL
 The Secretary General is the Alliance’s top
international servant. He/she is
responsible for steering the process of
consultation and decision-making within
the Alliance and ensuring that decisions
are implemented.
 The Secretary General is also NATO’s
chief spokesperson and heads the
Organization International Staff, which
provides advice, guidance and
administrative support to the national
delegations at NATO Headquarters.

 MILITARY ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE
 When the implementation of political decisions
has military implications, the key actors
involved are: the Military Committee,
composed of the Chiefs of Defense of NATO
member countries; the International Military
Staff, the Military Committee’s executive body;
and the military command structure, composed
of Allied Command Operations and Allied
Command Transformation.
 NATO has very few permanent forces of its
own. When the North Atlantic Council agrees
to launch an operation, members contribute
military forces on a voluntary basis. These
forces then return to their countries once the
mission is completed.

 MILITARY ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE
 When the implementation of political decisions
has military implications, the key actors
involved are: the Military Committee,
composed of the Chiefs of Defense of NATO
member countries; the International Military
Staff, the Military Committee’s executive body;
and the military command structure, composed
of Allied Command Operations and Allied
Command Transformation.
 NATO has very few permanent forces of its
own. When the North Atlantic Council agrees
to launch an operation, members contribute
military forces on a voluntary basis. These
forces then return to their countries once the
mission is completed.

ALLIED COMMAND OPERATIONS (ACO)
Responsible for the planning and
execution of all NATO military
operations.

ALLIED COMMAND TRANSFORMATION (ACT)
Responsible for ensuring NATO’s
military structure and capabilities
remain relevant, capable and credible in
a rapidly changing world.

THE END