NATO Principles

The goal of NATO aim is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. NATO promotes democratic values and allows its members to consult and cooperate in matters of defence and security in order to solve problems, create trust and avoid conflicts in the long term. NATO is committed to the peaceful settlement of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the option of deploying military forces for crisis management operations. These are implemented on the basis of the collective defence clause in the NATO Treaty – Article 5 of the Washington Treaty – or on the basis of a UN mandate, either alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organisations. Read more about the core values of the NATO here.

The activities of NATO are based on the shared core values of the member countries, which are:

Integrity – the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is an alliance of 30 North American and European countries whose goal is to implement the provisions of the North Atlantic Treaty signed on 4 April 1949. One of the most important articles of the Treaty – Article 5 – states that the Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.

Freedom – according to the North Atlantic Treaty, the primary objective of NATO is to defend the freedom and security of its member states countries by political and military means.

Security – NATO stands for and promotes the common values of its members, such as democracy, individual freedom, the rule of law and the peaceful resolution of conflicts in the Euro-Atlantic region.

Transatlantic unity – the alliance embodies the transatlantic unity to which the security of North America and Europe is permanently linked. The alliance stands for the efforts made to defend the common interests of all member countries.