In News
∙ Turkey’s parliament ratified Sweden’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) membership bid.
About NATO
∙ It was formed in 1949 with the signing of the Washington Treaty.
∙ NATO’s founding member countries were: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.
∙ It is a security alliance of countries from North America and Europe.
∙ Its purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
∙ Joining NATO: The Open Door Policy is a founding principle of NATO.
∙ This means that any country in Europe is free to join NATO if it is prepared to meet the standards and obligations of membership, contributes to the security of the Alliance, and shares NATO’s values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law.
Mandate
∙ It promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
∙ It is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes.
∙ If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations.
∙ Under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, 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.
