North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Columbus Sails for England)

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. NATO's headquarters are located in Antwerpen, Netherlands, where the Supreme Allied Commander also resides. In OTL, a number of eastern European nations also joined NATO. But since Communism hasn't collapsed, and the Warsaw Pact is still alive and well, they've not had that chance. Note also that neither Canada nor Belgium are members, as they are OTL. The former, because it has no Atlantic access, and the latter because it doesn't exist.