UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace declared before the House of Commons, 17 January 2022, that: "many countries have joined the Alliance not because NATO is making them do so – but because of the freely expressed will of the governments and peoples of those countries. Countries choose NATO; NATO does not choose them."

In the first place, he is confusing form with substance. Some people were indeed opposed to joining NATO. However, institutions were manipulated so as to create the illusion of a popular support. For example, the majority of citizens from North Macedonia rejected NATO, as against only one third who subscribed to it. The illusion depends on the way votes are counted [1].

But most important is that Wallace’s portrayal glosses over the fact that the admission of each new "candidate" must first be approved by the other members of NATO, as laid down by the organization’s own statutes. ‎

 

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[1] "Macedonians reject Nato and EU membership”, Translation Anoosha Boralessa, Voltaire Network, 4 October 2018.