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
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe deployed in Europe. One of the most significant events in the history of Allied Command Europe (ACE) was France's withdrawal from NATO's integrated military structure. This move forced SHAPE and several other ACE headquarters to leave French territory. France's resentment over NATO's military structure had been brewing for a number of years, as successive French governments had become increasingly incensed with Anglo-American domination of the command structure and insufficient French influence. In February 1966 President Charles de Gaulle stated that the changed world order had "stripped NATO of its justification" for military integration, and soon afterward, France stated that it