NATO marks 73rd anniversary amid new security challenges

BRUSSELS (AA) – NATO marked its 73rd anniversary on Monday amid new security challenges caused by the Russian war on Ukraine, which is regarded by many as the “biggest threat” Europe has faced since the Cold War and the “greatest destruction” witnessed since World War II.

NATO was founded to restructure the security architecture in Western Europe after World Wat II.

The alliance, which defines its main objective as securing the independence and security of the member countries through military and political means, is best known for its Article 5, which commits its members to collective defense.

Under Article 5, “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.”

To date, the article has been invoked precisely once, in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the US.

Enlargement

Founded in Washington on April 4, 1949, with 12 members, the alliance now has 30 members.

Turkey became a member in 1952, Germany in 1955, Spain in 1982, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland in 1999, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia in 2004, Albania and Croatia in 2009, Montenegro in 2017, and North Macedonia in 2020.

NATO’s headquarters is located in Brussels, where decisions are taken unanimously by its 30 members.

Allies meet at different levels to consult on security issues.

Trans-Atlantic forum

Each year, the foreign ministers of the member states meet two times and the defense ministers four times.

Leaders of NATO countries also meet at summits held in one of the member countries every 2 years.

This year, the leaders’ summit will be held in the Spanish capital Madrid on June 29 and 30.