alliance of mainly European states, together with the United States of America and Canada. The organization was founded as a collective security measure following Second World War. This provision was intended so that if the Soviet Union launched an attack against the European allies of the United States, it would be treated as if it were an attack on the United States itself, which had the biggest military and could thus provide the most significant retaliation. However, the feared Soviet invasion of Europe never came. Instead, the provision was invoked for the first time in the treaty's history on 12 September 2001, in response to the attacks of 11 September on the United States the day before. GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development is a regional organization of four CIS states: Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova. The group was created as a way of countering the influence of Russia in the area, and it has received backing and encouragement from the United States . Though at one point it was generally considered to have stagnated, recent developments have caused speculation on the possible revival of the organization. Secessionist and devolutionary pressures These movements, seeking either autonomy or independence, vary greatly in their popular support and political profile, from fringe movements to mainstream campaigns. Azerbaijan The Republic of Artsakh is an unrecognized de facto independent Republic in the Caucasus region of Eastern Europe. The Armenian majority population declared independence from Azerbaijan in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It participates in the Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations along with other partially recognized states within the region. Belgium Two of Belgium's political parties, the Vlaams Belang and New-Flemish Alliance, want Flanders, the northern part of the country, to become independent. Other Flemish parties plead for more regional autonomy. There is also a minor movement aiming at unification of Flanders with the Netherlands (see Greater Netherlands). The autonomous Belgian region of Wallonia has an almost extinct movement seeking unification with France. Bosnia and Herzegovina Some inhabitants of Republika Srpska, one of the two constituent entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina), the vast majority of them being ethnic Serbs, would opt for independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina and unification with Serbia. Republika Srpska comprises 49% of the territory of Bosnia and functions independently from