NATO Enlargement: Senate Advice and Consent (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
May 2, 2003 |
| Report Number |
RS21240 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
David M. Ackerman, American Law Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The Senate is expected to vote on the resolution for NATO enlargement sometimein early to mid-May. The enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) in 1998 to include Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, and theinvitations extended at the NATO summit in November, 2002, to seven additional states have raised questions about whether Senate advice and consent is necessary when new states join NATO. This report describes the process that has been used in previous enlargements - Greece and Turkey (1952), the Federal Republic of Germany (1955), Spain (1982), and Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic (1998) - and finds that Senate advice and consent has been sought and given in every instance. The report also discusses the reunification of Germany in 1990. For more on NATO applicants, see CRS Report RL30168. This report will be updated as needed.
