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NATO Chronology, 1947-1999 Released by the Bureau of Public Affairs, March 12, 1999 Department of State, Washington, D.C.

Moscow Council of Foreign Ministers and Secretary of State Marshall’s report	March-April 1947	Marshall warned about the slow recovery of Europe and Western differences with the USSR
Dunkirk Treaty	March 4, 1947	First peacetime defense pact between Great Britain and France
President Truman’s speech	March 12, 1947	Proposed military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey; approved by Congress on May 22
Secretary Marshall’s address	June 5, 1947	Proposed Marshall Plan; invitation to the European nations to submit plans for a European recovery effort
Brussels Treaty	March 17, 1948	Created Western European Union (Brussels Pact); members promised to come to each other’s aid in case of attack
Vandenberg Resolution	June 11, 1948	Advised the President to seek U.S. and free world security through support of mutual defense arrangements that operated within the UN Charter but outside the UN Security Council
Berlin blockade and airlift	June 24, 1948- May 11, 1949	Soviet blockade of access to Berlin and subsequent US supply by air of the city
Washington Exploratory Talks	July-September 1948	Negotiations over the basic scope and structure of the North Atlantic Alliance
North Atlantic Treaty	April 4, 1949	Signed in Washington by the foreign ministers of 12 nations; created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for collective defense
US Senate approval of the North Atlantic Treaty	July 21, 1949	On being assured that the Treaty preserved Congressional prerogatives
Entry into force of the North Atlantic Treaty	August 24, 1949	Canada was the first to ratify (May 3) and Italy the last (August 24)
First North Atlantic Council session	September 17, 1949	Held in Washington and chaired by Secretary of State Acheson
Conference of NATO Foreign Ministers, Brussels	December 18, 1950	Approved plans for the defense of Western Europe, including US use of nuclear weapons if necessary to defend NATO nations
General Eisenhower appointed Supreme NATO Commander	December 19, 1950	Appointed by NATO foreign ministers with responsibility to create a force capable of repulsing an armed Soviet attack
Senate approval of first US troops for NATO	April 4, 1951	Approved deployment of 4 divisions of the US Army to Europe, but requested that the President consult with Congress before sending more troops
Greek and Turkish membership	February 18, 1952	Greece and Turkey acceded to the NATO treaty and became and 13th and 14th members
Creation of European Defense Community	May 27, 1952	Intended to unify Western European defense plans and bind West Germany to European defense; rejected by France in August 1954
US Senate ratification of NATO protocol	July 1, 1952	Ratified NATO protocol with West Germany extending NATO guarantees
West German membership	May 5, 1955	Germany became the 15th NATO member
Formation of the Warsaw Pact	May 14, 1955	Soviet response to West German troops in NATO; signed by eight Eastern European nations
French withdrawal from NATO	March 10, 1966	President DeGaulle formally announced France’s intention to withdraw from the NATO integrated military structure
New NATO Headquarters	October 16, 1967	Headquarters officially opened in Brussels
Harmel Report and Flexible Response	December 13-14, 1967	NATO adopted two-sided strategy of deterrence and détente and the doctrine of flexible response, replacing massive retaliation
NATO Agreement on CSCE and MBFR	May 30-31, 1972	NATO agreed to start Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe; members also proposed talks on Mutual Balanced Force Reductions
"Double Track" Decision on Theater Nuclear Forces	December 12, 1979	NATO decided to deploy Pershing II missiles in Europe if the Soviets refused to negotiate withdrawal of SS-20 missiles in Eastern Europe
Spanish membership	May 30, 1982	Spain became the 16th NATO member
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty	December 8, 1987	President Reagan and Soviet Leader Gorbachev signed the Washington INF Treaty eliminating intermediate-range missiles
Conventional Armed Forces in Europe	November 19, 1990	NATO and Warsaw Pact members signed the CFE treaty in Paris and published a Joint Declaration on non-aggression
Dissolution of Warsaw Pact	July 1, 1991	Members called for a "transition to all-European structures"
Peacekeeping Role in Former Yugoslavia	June 4, 1992	NATO announced readiness to support peace-keeping activities under authority of CSCE
Peacekeeping Operations under UN Authority	December 17, 1992	NATO stated readiness to back further action by the UN in former Yugoslavia
Brussels Declaration	January 10-11, 1994	NATO reaffirmed that the alliance was open to membership of other European states through the Partnership for Peace; NATO also endorsed concept of Combined Joint Task Forces
Operation Joint Endeavor	December 16, 1995	NATO launched the largest military operation to date in support of the Bosnia Peace Agreement
Founding Act between NATO and Russian Federation signed	May 27, 1997	Established framework for security partnership in the post-Communist world
Madrid Summit	July 8, 1997	NATO invited the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland to begin negotiations with a view to becoming NATO members
Formal entry into Alliance of Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland	March 12, 1999	Instruments of accession deposited at ceremony in Independence, Missouri

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