Withdrawal from NATO

Withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a legal and political process, where a member state of NATO withdraws from the organization, thus no longer being a member of NATO. The official procedures for this process are outlined in Article 13 of the treaty. This article states that any country wishing to withdraw must send a "withdrawal notice" to the United States (as the depositary) which will then inform other member countries of the withdrawal. After a one-year waiting period, the country wishing to leave will exit.

As of 2021, no member state has withdrawn its membership, although some have mentioned it. However, several former dependencies of NATO members have applied for membership after gaining independence.

Procedures

Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty is used by the member to notify other members and parties of their intention to leave NATO and states:

After twenty years from the entry into force of the treaty, any contracting party may withdraw from it by giving notice one year in advance to the Government of the United States of America, which shall, during the same period, inform all other Governments of its withdrawal.

This means that after twenty years from the signing of the treaty in 1949, or in 1969, no member state wishing to leave needs only to notify the US of their intention to leave and then officially leave one year later.

Proposed withdrawals

France
In 1966, relations between the United States and France deteriorated due to the refusal of French nuclear deterrence to be integrated with other North Atlantic forces or accept any collective control over its armed forces. President Charles de Gaulle reduced France's membership in NATO and withdrew it from the US-led military command in search of an independent defense system. However, the Double-Track Decision prevented a complete withdrawal from NATO. This led to the relocation of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) from Rocquencourt (France) to Mons (Belgium). The situation changed in 2009 when President Nicolas Sarkozy reversed course and returned France to full participation, with the French Parliament voting confidence in the decision.

Currently, prominent political parties in France; among those advocating for France's withdrawal from NATO are the Republican People's Party, advocating sovereignty, the Communist Party of France, and the National Front. The Gaullist Rally for France party and the National Front called for the cancellation of France's 2009 decision to return to NATO leadership. In a 2017 French opinion poll on NATO, 60% of respondents had a positive view, compared to 34% who had an unfavorable view.

Greece
In 1964, due to the Cyprus crisis, Greece withdrew its military units from NATO forces in southern Europe because Turkey, a NATO member, threatened to invade Cyprus. Greece withdrew from NATO's military command later in 1974 following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. However, the country did not completely withdraw from the organization but became clearly less active.

In 1980, Greek Foreign Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis discussed conditions under which Greece might completely withdraw from the organization.