North Atlantic Treaty Organization 321 continent’s opposition to multilateral trade agreements like NAFTA, the WTO, and the proposed FTAA Further reading: Duina, Francesco The Social Construction of Free Trade: The European Union, NAFTA, and MERCOSUR Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006; Odell, John S., ed Negotiating Trade: Developing Countries in the WTO and NAFTA New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006 Michael J Schroeder North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) The NATO alliance is dedicated to the maintenance of the democratic freedoms and territorial integrity of its 26 European and North American member countries through collective defense This alliance has been the dominant structure of European defense and security since its founding in 1949 and continues to serve as the most formal symbol of the United States’ commitment to defend Europe against aggression Following the end of the cold war, the organization also took on a peacekeeping and stabilizing role within Eurasia NATO was founded with the Washington Treaty of April 4, 1949, which was signed by Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Great Britain, and the United States The 12 founding members were later joined by 14 others, including Greece and Turkey, which allowed the alliance to secure the Mediterranean From the outset, NATO was intended to deter Soviet expansion into central and western Europe The Washington Treaty reflected the will of the signatories to further democratic values and economic cooperation, to share the obligations of defense individually and collectively, to consult together in the face of threats, to regard an attack against one member as an attack against all members, and to collectively and individually assist the victims of an attack The treaty also delineated the geographic boundaries of the alliance, created the North Atlantic Council to implement the treaty, made provisions for new members to join, governed ratification according to constitutional processes, and made provisions for review of the treaty NATO’s civil and military organization materialized during 1949–95 The basic structures developed during this period remained into the 21st century The civilian headquarters for the North Atlantic Council Hungarian troops under NATO command stand on guard at NATO headquarters in Kosovo (NAC), which maintains effective political authority and powers of decision in NATO, is located in Brussels, Belgium NATO’s secretary-general chairs the NAC and oversees the work of the International Staff (IS) Member countries maintain permanent representatives The council serves as a forum for frank and open diplomatic consultation and the coordination of strategic, defense, and foreign policy among the alliance members Action is agreed upon on the basis of common consensus rather than majority vote Twice a year the defense ministers of the member countries meet at the NAC, and summit meetings involving the heads of state of each member country occur, during which major decisions over grand strategy or policy must be made After the end of the cold war, the NAC was supplemented by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) as well as the NATO-Russia Joint Council These newer bodies facilitate peaceful coordination and cooperation between NATO and the Russian Federation and other former members of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact alliance The secretary-general of NATO also chairs the Defence Planning Committee (DPC), which is tasked with planning for the collective defense of the member countries The DPC provides guidance to the alliance’s military authorities to improve common measures of collective defense and military integration The DPC consists of the permanent representatives; like the NAC, the DPC also serves as a forum for meetings between the defense ministers of the member states twice a year The senior military representatives of the member states form the Military Committee The Military