What Is NATO and Which Countries Are Members?

After the Soviet Unions collapse in the early 1990s, the alliance took on a wider role. NATO forces made up of troops volunteered by member states operated as peacekeepers in Bosnia in the 1990s, and bombed Serbia in 1999 to protect Kosovo, where the alliance still has troops.

In addition to the United States and Canada, 10 other countries became part of NATO in 1949: Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Britain.

Since then, 18 more European powers have joined: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

Other European countries have, over the years, avoided joining, often because of traditions of neutrality, like Ireland. But Russias invasion of Ukraine prompted two traditionally nonaligned countries, Sweden and Finland, to reconsider. They announced plans to seek membership in May and received formal invitations in June. Its expected to take several more months, however, for each existing member country to ratify the decision.

Ukraine, in contrast, has little prospect of membership any time soon, not least because of the risk of widening the conflict with Russia.

Original post:
What Is NATO and Which Countries Are Members?