Foreign relations of Belgium (WEU). Both NATO (since 1966) and the EU have their headquarters in Brussels; SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) is in the south of the country, near Mons. Since January 1993, the WEU has been headquartered in Brussels. Belgium has been one of the strongest supporters of NATO since the inception of the alliance in 1949. Having suffered through two invasions in two world wars, Belgium was aware of its security needs and the limitations of its means for self-defense. As a result, the leaders of that nation began calling for the formation of a defensive alliance shortly after the
Lee Flemming Lee Flemming Lee Andrew Flemming (born May 11, 1968) is a retired United States Army Infantry Officer; he was the 27th commanding officer of the Installation and Base Support Group (BSG) of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) from July 2014 - June 2017 and most notably is the first African American in the history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to command the installation since its inception in 1949 after the conclusion of World War II. SHAPE is the installation that houses Allied Command Operations (ACO) and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). COL Flemming was awarded