NATO: Congress Addresses Expansion of the Alliance (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
May 24, 1999 |
| Report Number |
RL30192 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Paul E. Gallis, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
On April 30, 1998, the Senate gave its consent to the amendment of the North Atlantic Treaty
to
admit Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary by a vote of 80-19. The President signed the
Resolution of Ratification on May 22, 1998. On March 12, 1999, the three countries formally joined
the alliance.
On July 8, 1997, NATO named Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary as candidate states
for admission to the alliance. On June 3, 1997, Representative Benjamin Gilman and others
proposed the European Security Act of 1997 ( H.R. 1758 ). It was engrossed in
H.R. 1757 , the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, on June 11, 1997. The Conference
Report ( H.Rept. 105-432 ) was sent to the House floor March 10, 1998. The House passed
H.R. 1757 by voice vote on March 26, 1998, and the Senate by a vote of 51-49 on April
28, 1998. The bill became the European Security Act of 1998, and is Title XXVII of the omnibus
appropriations measure that the president signed on October 21, 1998 ( P.L. 105-277 ;
H.R. 4328 ).
The European Security Act endorses NATO enlargement; urges that the door to alliance
membership be kept open should a first round of enlargement occur; specifically urges consideration
of the Baltic states, Bulgaria, and Romania; outlines recommendations for arms control negotiations
that affect new and current members; and states that the European allies should pay the bulk of the
costs of enlargement.
The act states that no commitments be made to Russia over deployments of conventional and
nuclear forces in new member states that would put such states in a category different from that of
current members. In addition, NATO should make no commitments to Russia limiting the
construction of defense infrastructure or deployment of reinforcements in a new member state's
territory.
On May 27, 1997, NATO and Russia signed the "Founding Act," which outlines their future
security relationship.
On February 11, 1998, President Clinton sent the protocols of accession to the Senate (Treaty
Doc. 105-36). The Senate Foreign Relations Committee drafted a Resolution of Ratification, which
it adopted by a vote of 16-2 on March 3, 1998, and sent to the full Senate, accompanied by Exec.
Rpt. 105-14.
At the April 23-25 NATO summit in Washington, the allies did not invite new members, but
reaffirmed their policy of keeping the door open to qualified candidates.
