Finabel is a European organisation created with a view to promote interoperability (ability of diverse systems and organizations to work together) and cooperation between the national armies of the member states of the European Union (EU). The organisation was founded in 1953, and its name is the acronym of the initial letters of the member states - France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. It became FINABEL when Germany (Allemagne) joined in 1956, shortly after West Germany was rearmed in 1955. Later, the name has been kept as a proper noun, written in lower-case, when membership further expanded. Finabel was founded by armies which belonged to both NATO and Western European Union.