![]() ![]() ![]() This reflected the desire for greater military independence, particularly vis-à-vis the United States, and the refusal to integrate France's nuclear deterrent or accept any form of control over its armed forces. In 1966, President Charles de Gaulle decided to withdraw France from NATO's integrated military structure. Since 2008, air policing has been conducted on a periodic basis by NATO Allies. In 2006, US forces were withdrawn but the defence agreement remains valid. Since 1951, Iceland has also benefitted from a long-standing bilateral defence agreement with the United States. However, Iceland has a Coast Guard, national police forces, an air defence system and a voluntary expeditionary peacekeeping force. There is no legal impediment to forming them, but Iceland has chosen not to have any. When Iceland signed the Treaty in 1949, it did not have – and still does not have – armed forces. The memberships of Iceland and France, for instance, illustrate this point. Although each and every signatory to the North Atlantic Treaty is subject to the obligations of the Treaty, there remains a certain degree of flexibility which allows members to choose how they participate. On signing the Treaty, countries voluntarily commit themselves to participating in the political consultations and military activities of the Organization. the United States: Mr Dean Acheson (as US Secretary of State from 1949 to 1953, he attended and chaired meetings of the North Atlantic Council).the United Kingdom: Mr Ernest Bevin (main drive behind the creation of NATO and as Foreign Secretary from 1945 to 1951, he attended the first formative meetings of the North Atlantic Council).Lange (one of the "Three Wise Men", who drafted the report on non-military cooperation in NATO) Stikker (NATO Secretary General, 1961-1964) Robert Schuman (architect of the European institutions, who also initiated the idea of a European Defence Community) Pearson (negotiated the Treaty and was one of the "Three Wise Men", who drafted the report on non-military cooperation in NATO, published in 1956 in the wake of the Suez Crisis) Paul-Henri Spaak (NATO Secretary General, 1957-1961) Some of the foreign ministers who signed the Treaty were heavily involved in NATO's work at a later stage in their careers: Within the five months following the signing ceremony, the Treaty was ratified by the parliaments of the interested countries, sealing their membership. On 4 April 1949, the foreign ministers from 12 countries signed the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) at the Departmental Auditorium in Washington, D.C.: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. About member countries and their accession ![]()
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