NATO Article 5: What is it?
The alliance case simply explained
Created: 11/15/2022, 11:17 p.m
By: Andreas Schmid
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
© Olivier Matthys/AP/dpa
Article 5 of NATO is one of the most important points in the NATO treaty.
Anchored in it: the alliance case.
Przewodów – A rocket hits Poland, killing two people.
NATO is alarmed.
Ukraine blames Russia, Moscow denies.
Should it prove true that the explosion was triggered by rockets, it would be the first such incident in Russia's nearly nine-month war of aggression against Ukraine.
Immediately after the reports about the events in Przewodów, NATO Article 5 was brought into play, for example by the Eastern European portal
Visegrad24
.
NATO has not officially commented on Article 5.
Article 5 regulates the so-called alliance case, one of the most important statements in the North Atlantic Treaty.
The parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America will be considered an attack against them all.
First sentence in NATO Article 5
Article 5 of NATO - the case of the alliance simply explained
Article 5 of NATO says: If
a NATO member is attacked, the
whole of NATO
is de facto
attacked.
The NATO Council determines the alliance case, it has only been declared once so far: after the terrorist attacks in the USA on September 11, 2001.
In view of the Ukraine war, the alliance case does not apply because the country is not a member of NATO.
However, Ukraine is not averse to membership - a main point of contention in the Ukraine conflict, which has escalated over the years.
However, accession is not an issue in the near future, at least it was said before the start of the Ukraine war.
This is what happens when the Confederation case is called
If the alliance case is declared, according to the treaty, NATO members must take measures “to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.” It is expressly mentioned “including the use of armed force.”
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"Attack on Germany"
NATO, in turn, invokes the right to self-defense.
It is enshrined in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
An exception to the otherwise applicable ban on the use of force.
Rocket attack on Poland: Government considers Article 4 procedures
In response to the rocket attacks, Poland, together with the NATO allies, decided to examine whether there were grounds for initiating the procedures under Article 4 of the NATO treaty.
Article 4 provides for consultations between the NATO states if one of them sees the integrity of its territory, political independence or its own security threatened.
According to initial findings, Article 5 is expressly not an issue.
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