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'{{Lead too short|date=September 2023}}{{Short description|Policy}} In the context of the [[enlargement of NATO]], Article 10 of the [[North Atlantic Treaty]] is the origin for the April 1999 statement of a "'''NATO open door policy'''".<ref name="nodp">{{cite news |title=NATO's Open Door Policy |url=https://www.nato.int/docu/comm/1999/9904-wsh/pres-eng/04open.pdf |publisher=NATO |date=April 1999 |access-date=2022-05-07 |archive-date=2022-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512101216/https://www.nato.int/docu/comm/1999/9904-wsh/pres-eng/04open.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nato3m">{{cite news |title=Enlargement and Article 10 |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49212.htm |publisher=NATO |date=3 May 2022 |access-date=7 May 2022 |archive-date=9 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609182044/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_49212.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The open door policy requires a consensus in favour of countries applying to join NATO, as all member states must ratify the protocol enabling a new country to become a member of NATO. The open door policy "is aimed at promoting stability and cooperation".<ref>{{Cite web |last=NATO |title=Enlargement and Article 10 |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49212.htm |access-date=2024-01-23 |website=NATO |language=en}}</ref> ==History== ===Post-Cold War expansion of NATO=== [[File:Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia Join NATO DOD 106625793-5d3e18a1d58aa.webm|thumb|200px|George W. Bush's March 2004 speech (mentions open door policy at 7:03)]] Following the [[Revolutions of 1989|Eastern European Revolutions of 1989]], countries from the former [[Eastern bloc]] expressed their interest in joining [[NATO]]. During a March 1992 visit to [[Warsaw]], [[NATO Secretary General]] [[Manfred Wörner]] said that the "doors to NATO are open".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://icds.ee/en/20-years-of-the-czech-republic-hungary-and-poland-in-nato-yesterday-today-and-tomorrow/|title=Yesterday|publisher=International Centre for Defence and Security|author=Grzegorz Kozłowski|language=English|date=22 April 2019|accessdate=19 November 2022|archive-date=12 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312155243/https://icds.ee/en/20-years-of-the-czech-republic-hungary-and-poland-in-nato-yesterday-today-and-tomorrow/|url-status=live}}</ref> During the [[Budapest Memorandum|December 1994 OSSE conference]] in [[Budapest]], the [[United States]] and its NATO allies stated that no European countries should be prevented from joining the alliance.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/06/world/yeltsin-says-nato-is-trying-to-split-continent-again.html|title=Yeltsin Says NATO is Trying to Split Continent Again|work=New York Times|author=Elaine Sciolino|language=English|date=6 December 1994|accessdate=19 November 2022|archive-date=14 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814023900/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/06/world/yeltsin-says-nato-is-trying-to-split-continent-again.html|url-status=live}}</ref> According to [[Vladimir Putin]], he had asked whether or not Russia could join NATO in 1999. He recounted in February 2024 that [[Bill Clinton]] answered him, "I’ve talked to my team. No, no, it’s not possible now."<ref>https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/putin-says-russia-asked-to-join-nato-but-was-refused-by-president-clinton/ar-BB1i8jBx</ref> On March 12, 1999, [[Poland]], [[Hungary]] and the [[Czech Republic]] joined [[NATO]] as the first former [[Eastern Bloc]] states, beginning the expansion of NATO eastwards.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Perlez |first=Jane |date=1999-03-13 |title=EXPANDING ALLIANCE: THE OVERVIEW; Poland, Hungary and the Czechs Join NATO |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/13/world/expanding-alliance-the-overview-poland-hungary-and-the-czechs-join-nato.html |access-date=2023-07-08 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> When [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Romania]], [[Slovakia]] and [[Slovenia]] joined on March 29, 2004,<ref>{{Cite web |title=NATO Update: Seven new members join NATO - 29 March 2004 |url=https://www.nato.int/docu/update/2004/03-march/e0329a.htm |access-date=2023-07-08 |website=www.nato.int}}</ref> U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] prepared for even further expansion of the alliance. During the welcoming ceremony held the same day, he said: {{Cquote|The door to NATO will remain open until the whole of Europe is united in freedom and in peace|author=[[George W. Bush]]|source=29 March 2004 <ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/03/30/7-former-communist-countries-join-nato/476d93dc-e4bd-4f05-9a15-5b66d322d0e6/|title=7 Former Communist Countries Join NATO|newspaper=Washington Post|author=Thomas E. Ricks|language=English|date=30 March 2004|access-date=4 June 2022|archive-date=9 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109085742/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/03/30/7-former-communist-countries-join-nato/476d93dc-e4bd-4f05-9a15-5b66d322d0e6/|url-status=live}}</ref>}} The [[2008 Bucharest summit|April 2008 Bucharest Summit]] communiqué re-affirmed the NATO allies' "commitment to keeping NATO's door open to any European democracy willing and able to assume the responsibilities and obligations of membership, in accordance with Article 10 of the [[North Atlantic Treaty|Washington Treaty]]."<ref name="nato3a">{{cite news |title=NATO decisions on open-door policy |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_7218.htm |publisher=NATO |date=3 April 2008 |access-date=7 May 2022 |archive-date=7 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507155442/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_7218.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> At that summit, [[Ukraine–NATO relations|Ukraine]] was invited to join the Alliance.<ref name=afmam/> In a December 5, 2015 "Statement by NATO Foreign Ministers on Open Door Policy" [[Montenegro]] was invited to join the alliance, and the signatories encouraged "[[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] to continue making full use of all the opportunities for coming closer to the Alliance." They remained "committed to the Open Door Policy, a founding principle of the Washington Treaty" and encouraged "partners to continue to implement the necessary reforms and decisions to prepare for membership," while they would "continue to offer political and practical support to the efforts" of the partners.<ref name=nato2d>{{cite news |title=Statement by NATO Foreign Ministers on Open Door Policy |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_125591.htm?selectedLocale=en |publisher=NATO |date=2 December 2015 |access-date=7 May 2022 |archive-date=17 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517232512/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_125591.htm?selectedLocale=en |url-status=live }}</ref> At the end of November 2020, it became known that the NATO Summit in 2021 would consider a return to the open door policy, including the issue of providing Georgia with a [[Enlargement of NATO|Membership Action Plan]] (MAP).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-world/3153849-u-2021-roci-nato-rozglane-pitanna-pdc-dla-gruzii.html|title=У 2021 році НАТО розгляне питання ПДЧ для Грузії|access-date=2022-05-07|archive-date=2020-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213193928/https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-world/3153849-u-2021-roci-nato-rozglane-pitanna-pdc-dla-gruzii.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On February 9, 2021, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, [[Denys Shmyhal]], stated that he hoped that Ukraine would be able to receive an action plan for NATO membership at the same time as [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2021/02/9/7282873/ |title=Україна хоче отримати ПДЧ разом із Грузією – Шмигаль |trans-title=Ukraine wants to get a MAP together with Georgia – Shmyhal |website=Українська правда |access-date=2022-05-07 |archive-date=2021-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226095450/https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2021/02/9/7282873/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In response, the NATO Secretary-General confirmed during Shmyhal's visit to Brussels that Ukraine is a candidate for NATO membership.<ref name=kmu>{{Cite web |url=https://www.kmu.gov.ua/news/premyer-ministr-ta-gensek-nato-obgovorili-podalshi-kroki-na-shlyahu-yevroatlantichnoyi-integraciyi-ukrayini |title=Кабінет Міністрів України – Прем'єр-міністр та Генсек НАТО обговорили подальші кроки на шляху євроатлантичної інтеграції України |trans-title=Prime Minister and NATO Secretary General discuss further steps towards Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration |access-date=2022-05-07 |archive-date=2022-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515165940/https://www.kmu.gov.ua/news/premyer-ministr-ta-gensek-nato-obgovorili-podalshi-kroki-na-shlyahu-yevroatlantichnoyi-integraciyi-ukrayini |url-status=live }}</ref> On June 14, 2021, a communiqué issued at [[2021 Brussels summit]] reaffirmed commitment to the open door policy, as well as "all elements" of the decision made at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Georgia and Ukraine will become members of NATO.<ref>{{cite web |title=Brussels Summit Communiqué |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_185000.htm |website=NATO |date=14 June 2021 |at=paras. 66, 68, 69 |access-date=5 July 2022 |archive-date=21 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221172546/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_185000.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> ===Russian invasion of Ukraine=== On January 7, 2022, ahead of a bilateral meeting with Russia, [[Secretary General of NATO|NATO Secretary-General]] [[Jens Stoltenberg]] said that "Russia's unprovoked and unjustified [[Prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine|military buildup in and around Ukraine]]” had serious implications for European security and stability and that Russian forces were only strengthening a noose around Ukraine. A Ukrainian official said at the time that “There should not be any compromise with Russia... They recognize only force. Weakness will provoke them... NATO must show that doors are open and promises kept.” Stoltenberg said that “The Russian military buildup has not stopped. It continues and [is] gradually building up with more forces, more capabilities,” whereupon he described armored units, artillery, combat-ready troops, electronic warfare equipment, and other military capabilities. Stoltenberg was clear that the alliance would not heed Russia's demand to withdraw the invitation for Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO—or for any country to pursue the path of its choosing.<ref name="afmam">{{cite news |last1=Mahshie |first1=Abraham |title=Stoltenberg: NATO's Open-Door Policy Must Stay; Risk of Conflict in Europe 'Is Real' |url=https://www.airforcemag.com/nato-stoltenberg-open-door-policy-must-stay-risk-of-conflict-in-europe-is-real/ |agency=Air Force Magazine |publisher=Air & Space Forces Association |date=7 January 2022 |access-date=7 May 2022 |archive-date=7 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507161401/https://www.airforcemag.com/nato-stoltenberg-open-door-policy-must-stay-risk-of-conflict-in-europe-is-real/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On January 28, 2022, an [[op-ed]] was published by the [[New York University School of Law]] in which the author disclosed that in two drafts of a 2021 [[Russia–NATO relations#2021|NATO-Russia treaty]], "Moscow placed the onus of averting an expanded conflict in Ukraine on the West broadly, NATO particularly, and the United States specifically. Among other stipulations, Moscow insisted that NATO's open door to new members be shut."<ref name="skjs">{{cite news |last1=Keil |first1=Steven |title=Putin's Coercion on NATO Goes Beyond Its Open Door Policy |url=https://www.justsecurity.org/80009/putins-coercion-on-nato-goes-beyond-its-open-door-policy/ |agency=Just Security |publisher=Reiss Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law |date=28 January 2022 |access-date=7 May 2022 |archive-date=10 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510234954/https://www.justsecurity.org/80009/putins-coercion-on-nato-goes-beyond-its-open-door-policy/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In the wake of the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] on February 24, 2022, the leaders of the 30 NATO member countries held a meeting on March 24, 2022 in [[Brussels]] and one result was a statement which read in part:<ref name="hoss">{{cite news |title=Statement by NATO Heads of State and Government |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_193719.htm?selectedLocale=en |publisher=NATO |date=24 March 2022 |access-date=7 May 2022 |archive-date=26 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326153404/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_193719.htm?selectedLocale=en |url-status=live }}</ref> {{cquote|"Massive sanctions and heavy political costs have been imposed on Russia to bring an end to this war. We remain determined to maintain coordinated international pressure on Russia... We remain committed to the foundational principles underpinning European and [[International security|global security]], including that each nation has the right to choose its own security arrangements free from outside interference. We reaffirm our commitment to NATO's Open Door Policy under Article 10 of the [[North Atlantic Treaty|Washington Treaty]]... We will continue to take all necessary steps to protect and defend the security of our Allied populations and every inch of Allied territory... We are also establishing four additional multinational battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia... President Putin's choice to attack Ukraine is a strategic mistake, with grave consequences also for Russia and the Russian people." }} ====Turkey's opposition to Finnish and Swedish accession bids==== In May 2022, [[Turkey]] announced that while fully supporting [[NATO]]'s open door policy, it opposed the memberships of [[Finland]] and [[Sweden]] for allegedly supporting [[terrorism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/turkiye/disisleri-bakani-cavusoglu-turkiye-natonun-acik-kapi-politikasini-daima-desteklemistir-1937397|title=Dışişleri Bakanı Çavuşoğlu: Türkiye, NATO'nun açık kapı politikasını daima desteklemiştir|language=tr|date=May 18, 2022|work=Cumhuriyet|access-date=December 15, 2022|archive-date=December 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215210531/https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/turkiye/disisleri-bakani-cavusoglu-turkiye-natonun-acik-kapi-politikasini-daima-desteklemistir-1937397|url-status=live}}</ref> On March 17, 2023, Turkey withdrew its opposition to [[Finland–NATO relations|Finnish accession to NATO]], enabling Finland to become the 31st NATO member state on April 4, 2023.<ref>{{cite web|title=Turkey's Erdogan seals deal on Finland joining Nato|website=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64986744|date=17 March 2023|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20230318032627/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64986744|archivedate=18 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Finland joins NATO as 31st Ally|website=NATO|url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_213448.htm?selectedLocale=en|date=4 April 2023|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20230711213426/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_213448.htm?selectedLocale=en|archivedate=11 July 2023}}</ref> On July 10, 2023, Turkey dropped its objection to [[Sweden–NATO relations|Swedish accession to NATO]], clearing the path for Sweden to become the 32nd NATO member state, enabling Sweden to become the 32nd NATO member state on March 7, 2024.<ref>{{cite web|title=NATO Secretary General welcomes Türkiye's decision to forward Sweden accession protocols to parliament, looks forward to speedy ratification|website=NATO|url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_217015.htm|date=10 July 2023|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20230710195418/https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_217015.htm|archivedate=10 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-07 |title=Sweden officially joins NATO, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality |url=https://apnews.com/article/sweden-nato-us-russia-ukraine-8372bc866c8ddcf42d2b8209fa5cd2b1 |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} {{North Atlantic Treaty Organization}} {{Russian invasion of Ukraine}} [[Category:Enlargement of NATO|*]] [[Category:Enlargement of intergovernmental organizations]] [[Category:Events affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine]] [[Category:NATO]]'