One of the main sticking points of re-unification, however, was that if East Germany joined the Federal Republic it would become a part of NATO. In 1990, the negotiators reached an agreement that a reunified Germany would be in NATO under West Germany's existing membership. Yeltsin however retracted this informal declaration the following month,[32] writing that expansion "would violate the spirit of the treaty on the final settlement" which "precludes the option of expanding the NATO zone into the East. The first President of the independent Republic of Cyprus (19601977), Archbishop of Cyprus Makarios III, adopted a policy of non-alignment and took part in the 1961 founding meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade. The treaty . ", The West's Response to Perestroika and Post-Soviet Russia, "Russia's belief in Nato 'betrayal' and why it matters today", "Mikhail Gorbachev: I am against all walls", "Memorandum of conversation between Baker, Shevardnadze and Gorbachev", "The Myth of a No-NATO-Enlargement Pledge to Russia", "Did NATO Promise Not to Enlarge? What is the EU, and how is it set up? [295] The Democratic Party abandoned its pro-NATO attitude, claiming the Partnership for Peace is enough. [145][146] NATO leadership and the United States have said they were confident Turkey would not hold up the two countries' accession process. On 21 November 2011, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev while addressing soldiers in Vladikavkaz near the Georgian border stated that Russia's 2008 invasion had prevented any further NATO enlargement into the former Soviet sphere. [98], As NATO Secretary General Willy Claes noted, the 1995 study did not specify the "who or when,"[99] though it discussed how the then newly formed Partnership for Peace and North Atlantic Cooperation Council could assist in the enlargement process,[100] and noted that on-going territorial disputes could be an issue for whether a country was invited. [24] Whether or not representatives from NATO member states informally committed to not enlarge NATO into other parts of Eastern Europe during these and contemporary negotiations with Soviet counterparts has long been a matter of dispute among historians and international relations scholars. [135][136] The leadership of the Republika Srpska has opposed this transfer as a loss of autonomy. On 22 April 2010, NATO agreed to launch the Membership Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but with certain conditions attached. The naming dispute was resolved with the Prespa Agreement in June 2018 under which the country adopted the name North Macedonia, which was supported by a referendum in September 2018. [59][57] Russian troops had been stationed in Baltic states as late as 1995,[60] but the goals of European integration and NATO membership were very attractive for the Baltic states. The Soviet Union and its affiliated Communist nations in Eastern Europe founded a rival alliance, the Warsaw Pact, in 1955. [11] That month the Soviet Union established its own collective defense alliance, commonly called the Warsaw Pact, in part as a response to West German membership in NATO. Events of the following year prompted American leaders to adopt a more militaristic stance toward the Soviets. Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompted Finland and Sweden to apply for NATO membership in May 2022. Finland became a member of the alliance on 4 April 2023, the 74th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty being signed. The prospect of a rearmed Germany was understandably greeted with widespread unease and hesitancy in western Europe, but the country's strength had long been recognized as necessary to protect . Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader ultimately agreed in January 2008, as part of forming a coalition government with the HSS and HSLS parties, not to officially propose one. East Germany became a member of the Warsaw Pact when it was formed a few days later on 22 May 1955. The so-called "parade of sovereignties" declared by republics in the Baltic and Caucasus regions of the Soviet Union and their War of Laws with the government in Moscow further fractured its cohesion. The treaty puts limits on the number of deployed intercontinental-range nuclear weapons that both the US and Russia can have. [6] Joining the alliance is a debate topic in several other European countries outside the alliance, including Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, Malta, Moldova, and Serbia. The 1995 NATO bombing of Bosnia and Herzegovina targeted the Bosnian Serb Army and together with international pressure led to the resolution of the Bosnian War and the signing of the Dayton Agreement in 1995. As such, opposition to Soviet-style communism became a defining characteristic of the organization and the anti-communist governments of Greece, which had just fought a civil war against a pro-communist army, and Turkey, whose newly-elected Democrat Party were staunchly pro-American, came under internal and external pressure to join the alliance, which both did in February 1952. "NATO Enlargement and the Problem of Value Complexity. [58], Russia was particularly upset with the addition of the three Baltic states, the first countries that were part of the Soviet Union to join NATO. Note that this is not considered by NATO to be an IPAP. [142] On 2 March 2022, Vjosa Osmani, the President of Kosovo, called on NATO to speed up the membership process for Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Published in September 1995, the study outlined the "how and why" of possible enlargement in Europe,[97] highlighting three principles from the 1949 treaty for members to have: "democracy, individual liberty, and rule of law". [131] According to Politico, NATO members are reluctant to discuss Ukraine's entry into the alliance because they are aware of the Russian Federation's "hypersensitivity" to NATO expansion.[220]. [17][18] A Spanish referendum in 1986 confirmed popular support for remaining in NATO. He does not want Ukraine integrated into the Euro-Atlantic structures of NATO or the EU, nor does he want a secure and democratic Ukraine on his doorstep. [274], Moldova gained independence in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. [51], While the other Visegrd members were invited to join NATO at its 1997 Madrid summit, Slovakia was excluded based on what several members considered undemocratic actions by nationalist Prime Minister Vladimr Meiar. 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. Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania were all signatories to the pact. [141] In October 2017, the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska passed a nonbinding resolution opposing NATO membership for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bush administration. [6] On 3 March 2022, a resolution was passed by Kosovo's Parliament requesting that the government "take all necessary steps to join NATO, European Union, Council of Europe and other international organizations". Conflict between the Western nations (including the United States, Great Britain, France and other countries) and the Communist Eastern bloc (led by the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics or USSR) began almost as soon as the guns fell silent at the end of World War II (1939-45). [49] Hungary's interest in joining was confirmed by a November 1997 referendum that returned 85.3% in favor of membership. [267][268], This friendly policy changed in 1971, when Dom Mintoff, of the Labour Party, was elected as prime minister. [143], The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine led to Finland and Sweden applying for membership on 18 May 2022. While the treaty itself did not commit Austria to neutrality, this was subsequently enshrined into Austria's constitution that October with the Declaration of Neutrality. An expansion of NATO came with German reunification on 3 October 1990, when the former East Germany became part of the Federal Republic of Germany and of the alliance. The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said all member countries have agreed that Ukraine will eventually join the transatlantic military . [13], Relations between NATO members and Spain under dictator Francisco Franco were strained for many years, in large part due to Franco's cooperation with the Axis powers during World War II. West Germany was reunified with East Germany on 3 October 1990. . [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. The move was widely supported by the people of the . [47][48] Political parties reluctant to move on NATO membership were voted out of office, including the Bulgarian Socialist Party in 1997 and Slovak HZDS in 1998. To appease the Soviets, it also granted the territory a "special military status" that . [91] Most countries approved Finland's application throughout 2022, but Hungary and Turkey held out over disputes until early 2023, with the Hungarian parliament approving the application on 27 March, and the Turkish parliament approved the application on 31 March 2023. [187], In September 2019, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that "NATO approaching our borders is a threat to Russia. On 30 September 2022, Ukraine formally submitted an application for NATO membership. [150] NATO formed the backbone of the Wests 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. [205][206], However, in response to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine,[207] Yatsenyuk announced his intentions to resume the bid for NATO integration on 29 August 2014,[208] and in December 2014, Ukraine's parliament voted to drop the non-aligned status that it adopted in 2010. Country by country, this page offers an overview of the links to national information servers and to the website of national delegations to NATO. NATOUkraine Action Plan adopted on 22 November 2002. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg answers reporter's questions during a press statement prior to the meeting of the 'Ukraine Defense Contact Group' at Ramstein Air Base in Ramstein, Germany . [223], Russia, Armenia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan are all members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a post-Soviet alternative military alliance. The treaty's Article 10 describes how non-member states may join NATO: The Parties may, by unanimous agreement, invite 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 to accede to this Treaty. [212], On 8 June 2017, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada passed a law making integration with NATO a foreign policy priority,[213] and Poroshenko announced the next month that he would seek the opening of negotiations on a Membership Action Plan with NATO,[214] which recognized Ukraine as an aspirant country by March 2018. [276] Following the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia, NATO officials warned that Russia might seek to annex Transnistria, a breakaway Moldovan region. [101] At the 1997 Madrid summit, the heads of state of NATO issued the "Madrid Declaration on Euro-Atlantic Security and Cooperation" which invited three Central European countries to join the alliance, out of the twelve that had at that point requested to join, laying out a path for others to follow. [286][287] Serbia's Parliament passed a resolution in 2007 which declared their military neutrality until such time as a referendum was held on the issue. At a meeting at Camp David, Bush persuaded Kohl to push for a deal that allowed for a unified Germany to join NATO in full, with the simple caveat that only German troops, rather than foreign ones . [121] The country then started the process of Intensified Dialogue at the 2008 Bucharest summit. [16][17] Following Franco's death in 1975, Spain began a transition to democracy, and came under international pressure to normalize relations with other western democracies. [157] The center-right Moderate Party and center-left Liberal Party have both generally supported NATO membership since the end of the Cold War, with the Moderates even making it their top election pledge in 2022. NATO enlargement was the subject of lively debate in the early 1990s. Stoltenberg himself said that . Finland joined the Partnership for Peace in 1994, and provided peacekeeping forces to both NATO's Kosovo and Afghanistan missions in the early 2000s. [80] The Sobranie also ratified the treaty unanimously on 11 February 2020,[81] before North Macedonia became a NATO member state on 27 March 2020. [279] A poll in December 2018 found that, if given the choice in a referendum, 22% of Moldovans would vote in favor of joining NATO, while 32% would vote against it and 21% would be unsure. Yes, Cyprus", "Cypriot parliament votes to join NATO's Partnership for Peace", "Cyprus Vouli Antiprosopon (House of Representatives)", "Cypriot conservative romps to presidential victory", "Cyprus dismisses reports on NATO scenarios", "Cyprus will not apply for Nato membership at the moment def minister says", "Ireland committed to Partnership for Peace but has no plans to join NATO Shatter", "NATO's 'neutral' European partners: valuable contributors or free riders? [308] Because of its close ties to Europe, Cape Verde has been suggested as a future member and the government of Cape Verde suggested an interest in joining as recently as 2019. In 1995, under Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami of the Nationalist Party, Malta joined the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council multilateral defense forum and NATO's Partnership for Peace program. Following the failure of the New Union Treaty, the leadership of the remaining constituent republics of the Soviet Union, starting with Ukraine in August 1991, declared their independence and initiated the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which was completed in December of that year. [229], Membership of Austria in the European Union (or its predecessor organizations) was controversial due to the Austrian commitment to neutrality. [5] Kosovo also aspires to join NATO. In May 1955, West Germany joined NATO, which was one of the conditions agreed to as part of the end of the country's occupation by France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, prompting the Soviet Union to form their own collective security alliance (commonly called the Warsaw Pact) later that month. The accession process is overseen by the North Atlantic Council, NATO's governing body. [161][162][163], Support for NATO membership over this period steadily increased, with polling by the SOM Institute showing it growing from 17% to 31% between 2012 and 2015. [270] The country joined the Non-Aligned Movement in 1979, at the same time when the British Royal Navy left its base at the Malta Dockyard. [289] In April 2011 Serbia's request for an IPAP was approved by NATO,[290] and Serbia submitted a draft IPAP in May 2013. [252] A poll in early March 2022 found 37% in favor of joining NATO and 52% opposed,[253] while one at the end of March 2022, found a sharp rise of approval with 48% supporting NATO membership and 39% opposing it. [22][23] There is no mention of NATO expansion into any other country in the SeptemberOctober 1990 agreements on German reunification. NATO's secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg has stated that the alliance fully respects Malta's position of neutrality, and put no pressure for the country to join the alliance. [304] In March 2019, US President Donald Trump made Brazil a major non-NATO ally, and expressed support for the eventual ascension of Brazil into NATO. ", "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? In February 1948, a coup sponsored by the Soviet Union overthrew the democratic government of Czechoslovakia and brought that nation firmly into the Communist camp. The final agreement signed by Russia and the west in September 1990 applied only to Germany. Originally invited to join the MAP in April 2010 under the condition that no Annual National Programme would be launched until one of the conditions for the. The Declaration prohibits Austria from joining a military alliance, from hosting foreign military bases within its borders, and from participating in a war. "[33][34] During one of James Baker's 1990 talks with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Baker did suggest that the German reunification negotiations could have resulted in an agreement where "there would be no extension of NATO's jurisdiction for forces of NATO one inch to the east,"[35] and historians like Mark Kramer have interpreted it as applying, at least in the Soviets' understanding, to all of Eastern Europe. The new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe were eager to guarantee their freedom by becoming integrated into Euro-Atlantic institutions. [183], A nonbinding referendum in 2008 resulted in 77 percent of voters supporting NATO accession. [307] In 2020, Trump stated that Middle Eastern countries should be admitted to NATO. NATO then formalized the process of joining the organization with "Membership Action Plans", which aided the accession of seven Central and Eastern Europe countries shortly before the 2004 Istanbul summit: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. [97] The text of Article 10 was the origin for the April 1999 statement of a "NATO open door policy". Little more than one week later, on 14 May 1955, the Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact, which included the German Democratic Republic (also known as East Germany). [113] While their neighbors both requested and accepted the dialog program, Serbia's offer was presented to guarantee the possibility of future ties with the alliance.[114]. [82][83], For much of the Cold War, Finland's relationship with NATO and the Soviet Union followed the PaasikiviKekkonen doctrine, where the country joined neither the Western nor Eastern blocs. 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. NATO invited North Macedonia to begin membership talks on 11 July 2018;[77] formal accession talks began on 18 October 2018. [276] The second largest alliance in the parliament of Moldova, the Electoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists, strongly opposes NATO membership. [236][237] The winner of Cyprus' presidential election in February 2013, Nicos Anastasiades, stated that he intended to apply for membership in the PfP program soon after taking over. [102], The biggest step in the formalization of the process for inviting new members came at the 1999 Washington summit when the Membership Action Plan (MAP) mechanism was approved as a stage for the current members to regularly review the formal applications of aspiring members. By: History . . . [46] Russian military actions, including the First Chechen War, were among the factors driving Central and Eastern European countries, particularly those with memories of similar Soviet offensives, to push for NATO application and ensure their long-term security. [280] Some Moldova politicians, including former Prime Minister Iurie Leanc, have also supported the idea of unifying with neighboring Romania, which Moldova shares a language and much of its history with, and a poll in April 2021 found that 43.9% of those surveyed supported that idea. In the aftermath of World War I and World War II, Soviet leaders felt very apprehensive about Germany once again becoming a military powera concern that was shared by many European nations on both sides of the Cold War divide. The start of the Cold War between 1947 and 1953 saw an ideological and economic divide between the capitalist states of Western Europe backed by United States with its Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine, and the communist states of Eastern Europe, backed by the Soviet Union. For the next 35 years, East and West Germany came to symbolize the animosities of the Cold War. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. 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. [41] By mid-1992, a consensus emerged within the administration that NATO enlargement was a wise realpolitik measure to strengthen Euro-American hegemony. Mintoff supported neutrality as his foreign policy,[269] and the position was later enshrined into the country's constitution in 1974 as an amendment to Article 1. In 2014, pro-Russian unrest occurred in eastern Ukraine and Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation in March. To secure Soviet approval of a united Germany remaining in NATO, the treaty prohibited foreign troops and nuclear weapons from being stationed in the former East Germany,[21] though an addendum signed by all parties specified that foreign NATO troops could be deployed east of the Cold War line after the Soviet departure at the discretion of the government of a united Germany. [54] Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic officially joined NATO in March 1999. [240], Ireland was neutral during World War II, though the country cooperated with Allied intelligence and permitted the Allies use of Irish airways and ports. The Soviets warned that such a provocative action would force them to make new security arrangements in their own sphere of influence, and they were true to their word. "[24][34][38], This view, that informal assurances were given by diplomats from NATO members to the Soviet Union in 1990, is common in countries like Russia,[26][21] and, according to political scientist Marc Trachtenberg, available evidence suggests that allegations made since then by Russian leadership about the existence of such assurances "were by no means baseless. Joining the USSR in the alliance were Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Hungary, Poland and Romania. [255], According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Enver Hoxhaj, integration with NATO is a priority for Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008. The Scottish National Party agreed at its conference in 2012 that it wished for Scotland to retain its NATO membership were it to become independent from the United Kingdom. . President Bill Clinton predicted in 1995 that the first .