It states that an armed attack on one or more members of NATO will be deemed an attack against them all.

The admission of new members to the Alliance is in line with Article 10 of the Treaty which states that other European states in a position to further the principles of the Treaty and contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area may be invited to accede. After the recent accession of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, Alliance leaders have indicated that the door remains open to other countries in the future.

In other articles of the Treaty, each member country undertakes to contribute to the development of peaceful and friendly international relations in a number of ways, including by strengthening its free institutions and promoting conditions of stability and well-being. The Treaty also provides for efforts to eliminate conflict in the international economic policies of member countries and to encourage cooperation between them.



The Transformation of the Alliance

NATO is an alliance committed to the collective defence of its member countries as the basis for preserving peace and ensuring future security, but, following the momentous changes which occurred in Europe in the 1990s, it has become a catalyst for extending security and stability throughout Europe. The transformation of NATO, following the end of the Cold War and the end of the division of Europe, is aimed at generating a higher degree of cooperation and mutual trust, from which the whole of Europe will benefit.

At the core of the Alliance are its member countries. The representatives of the governments of these countries, meeting together, represent the highest political authorities of the Alliance. The decisions which they have taken jointly in the past decade have enabled the Alliance to act in unprecedented ways, both to extend the security enjoyed by its members further afield and to bring to an end conflicts threatening the stability of the Euro-Atlantic area.

From 1992 to the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement at the end of 1995, the Alliance acted in support of the United Nations to end the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina. After the signing of the agreement, it established a multinational Implementation Force (IFOR) responsible for implementing the military aspects of the Dayton Agreement. Subsequently, in 1996, IFOR was succeeded by a similar but smaller NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR).