Who can join NATO? How to become a NATO member? How much does it cost to join NATO?

Any European state may join NATO after being unanimously invited by NATO members. The process is overseen by the North Atlantic Council, which is NATO’s governing body. In order to be eligible to be invited to join NATO, a country must meet the following criteria:

The country needs to be located in the Europe continent; The country must be a democracy;  and, There must be a capacity and willingness to contribute to the security of the Euro-Atlantic area.

Each member contributes to a common fund based on the size of its overall economy. NATO’s common fund budget for 2023 is $3.7 billion and covers administrative costs and collective military infrastructure.

Their combined military spending as of 2022 constituted around 55 percent of the global nominal total 1. Moreover, members have agreed to reach or maintain the target defense spending of at least two percent of their GDP by 2024.

According to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, an attack against one member is considered an attack against all members, and they commit to come to the aid of the attacked member.

NATO’s organizational structure consists of civilian and military bodies, with the North Atlantic Council (NAC) serving as the principal political decision-making body. The Military Committee advises the NAC on military matters, and the International Staff provides support and expertise.