Poland is located at a geographic crossroads that links the forested lands of northwestern Europe to the sea lanes of the Atlantic Ocean and the fertile plains of the Eurasian frontier. Bounded by seven nations, Poland has waxed and waned over the centuries, buffeted by the forces of regional history. By the turn of the 21st century, Poland was a market-based democracy, abundant in products of all kinds, and a member of both NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the European Union (EU), allied more strongly with Western Europe than with eastern Europe but, as always, squarely between them. Machinery, metals, textiles and clothing, coal, and food account for the bulk of exports, and machinery, chemicals, and fuels are the major imports. Germany is the largest market for almost all categories of exports, while Russia remains by far the most important source of energy imports, and Germany and Italy serve as the chief sources of foreign machinery and chemicals. Poland has been a member of WTO since 1 July 1995 and a member of GATT since 18 October 1967. It is a member State of the European Unionstar. All EU member States are WTO members, as is the EU (until 30 November 2009 known officially in the WTO as the European Communities for legal reasons) in its own right.