Germany's alliance(s)

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Germany is a NATO member.
Everybody here (OK, maybe in polls about 80% of German adults) knows that.

So, what about other alliances? Is NATO our only alliance?
What if NATO *dissolved*? Would we be suddenly on our own?

The answer is actually no, for there's still the WEU (UEO in French). It's an early Cold War (October 1954) relic that has been revived long ago and transformed into the defence project for the EU - with predictable problems (some EU members have a neutrality policy in national defence).

The modified Brussels treaty has an Article V that reads:

If any of the High Contracting Parties should be the object of an armed attack in Europe, the other High Contracting Parties will, in accordance with the provisions of Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, afford the Party so attacked all the military and other aid and assistance in their power.

This article is still in force, and it looks as if the full members want to keep it in force.
It's actually more resolute than the North Atlantic Charter Article V.

"afford the Party so attacked all the military and other aid
and assistance in their power"

instead of

"if such an armed attack occurs, each of them (...) will assist (...)
by taking (...) such action as it deems necessary,
including the use of armed force,
to restore and maintain the security (...)"

Now I guess that if I would interview people in the pedestrian area about Germany's alliances, nobody or almost nobody would recall this one. I'm even quite confident that many soldiers and other natio0nal security-interested people wouldn't recall it.


By the way, the WEU unites these nations as allies:

Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom.

Several others are associated members, associated partners or observers.


S O
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