An Alliance in action
This fact sheet highlights the Atlantic Alliance's ability to adapt and highlights operations as the crucible of its effectiveness. In 2008, a report by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly highlighted the range and diversity of activities carried out by NATO forces: "[The Alliance] has undergone a fundamental transformation from its strictly defensive posture during the Cold War. This evolution has continued in order to better serve the interests of its members and partners. A decade later, in a radically changed geopolitical environment, this transformation has become a revolution; NATO seems to have returned to its original function, that of the 1949 Washington Treaty, that of Article 5 and collective defence.
Putting Allied defence spending into perspective
This fact sheet looks at defence spending by member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. In February 2024, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the unprecedented increase in defence spending by NATO allies, with over 600 billion dollars more invested since 2014. This increase in defence spending is part of a twofold movement: the return of the threat and the pressure exerted by successive US administrations on the necessary level of commitment by the allies.
NATO enlargement, past and present
This fact sheet highlights the process of including new Member States in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. At the Washington Summit on 10 and 11 July 2024, Sweden was welcomed as the 32nd ally. However, the question of NATO enlargement continues to arise for three countries aspiring to join the Alliance: Georgia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and, above all, Ukraine.
