Who was the first country to start NATO? Is NATO bigger than the EU?

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was established in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. The organization’s headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium.

As of June 2023, NATO has 30 member countries. The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states located primarily in Europe. The EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993 and has its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

While NATO and the EU are both headquartered in Brussels, they have different purposes, structures, memberships, and funding. NATO is a military defense and security intergovernmental organization while the EU is a trade and finance intergovernmental organization.

NATO plays a significant role in international security and cooperation. The organization’s headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium. NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties.

During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa.

NATO was founded in the aftermath of World War II, during a period of heightened tensions between Western democracies and the Soviet Union. Beyond collective defense, NATO has expanded its missions to include crisis management, cooperative security, and partnerships with non-member countries.