(reposted from LawPundit)
NATO ADDS SEVEN NEW MEMBERS as of April 2, 2004
On April 2, 2004, seven (7) additional countries joined the previous nineteen member States of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) as new member states, thus raising the number of NATO members from 19 to 26.
As seen on the map above prepared for this purpose, these seven new NATO members starting in the north and moving southward are:
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Romania
Bulgaria
NATO and the European Union (EU) Compared
It is of interest to note that the States of the European Union (including those added on May 1, 2004) and the Members of NATO do not overlap entirely, although there is a declaration of partnership between the EU and NATO.
Iceland is not a member of the European Union but is a member of NATO.
Ireland is a member of the European Union but is not a member of NATO.
Norway is a member of NATO but not a member of the European Union.
Sweden is a member of the European Union but not of NATO.
Finland is a member of the European Union but not of NATO.
Austria is a member of the European Union but not of NATO.
Turkey is a member of NATO but not of the European Union.
Romania is a member of NATO but not of the European Union.
Bulgaria is a member of NATO but not of the European Union.
Malta is a member of the European Union but not of NATO.
Greek Cyprus is a member of the European Union but not of NATO.
The discrepancies are an interesting study in the divergence of political, legal, economic, military and defense interests.
