Enlargement of NATO

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Article X of the North Atlantic Treaty describes how non-member states may join NATO:^[1]

“

The Parties may by unanimous agreement, invite any other European State in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area to accede to this Treaty. Any State so invited may become a Party to the Treaty by depositing its instrument of accession with the Government of the United States of America. The Government of the United States of America will inform each of the Parties of the deposit of each such instrument of accession.

”

Note that this article poses two general limits to non-member states: (1) only European states are eligible for membership and (2) these states need the approval of all the existing member states. The second criterion means that every member state can put some criteria forward that have to be attained. In practice, NATO formulates in most cases a common set of criteria, but for instance in the case of Cyprus, Turkey blocks Cyprus' wish to be able to apply for membership as long as the Cyprus dispute is not resolved. Cyprus opposes Turkey's admission to the European Union for the same reason.

During the Cold War, NATO grew with the admission of the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Turkey, and Spain. In 1999, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic were added to the organisation.

Membership went on expanding with the accession of seven more Northern European and Eastern European countries to NATO: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and also Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania. They were first invited to start talks of membership during the 2002 Prague Summit, and joined NATO on 29 March 2004, shortly before the 2004 Istanbul Summit.

Contents 1 Membership Action Plan 2 Enlargement in the Twenty-first Century 3 Dialogue about membership 3.1 Albania 3.2 Croatia 3.3 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3.4 Finland 3.5 Montenegro 3.6 Serbia 3.7 Sweden 3.8 Ukraine 4 Sources and References

[edit] Membership Action Plan

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Main article: Membership Action Plan

As a procedure for nations wishing to join, a mechanism called Membership Action Plan (MAP) was approved in the Washington Summit of 1999. A country's participation in MAP entails the annual presentation of reports concerning its progress on five different measures:

• Willingness to settle international, ethnic or external territorial disputes by peaceful means, commitment to the rule of law and human rights, and democratic control of armed forces
• Ability to contribute to the organization's defence and missions
• Devotion of sufficient resources to armed forces to be able to meet the commitments of membership
• Security of sensitive information, and safeguards ensuring it
• Compatibility of domestic legislation with NATO cooperation

NATO provides feedback as well as technical advice to each country and evaluates its progress on an individual basis.^[2]

NATO is also unlikely to invite countries such as Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Austria and Switzerland, where popular opinions do not support NATO membership. The polices of neutrality in these countries along with widespread public disapproval of membership make them incompatible with NATO.

In April 2008, Greece also blocked a membership invitation to the Republic of Macedonia over a more-than-a-decade long dispute regarding the latter country's name.^[3]

[edit] Enlargement in the Twenty-first Century

Country	Partnership for Peace	Individual Partnership Action Plan	NATO membership declared as goal	Intensified Dialogue	Membership Action Plan	NATO membership
Albania	1994-02 February 1994[4]	-	Yes	-	1999-04 April 1999	Invited: April 2008, Expected: 2009[5]
Croatia	2000-05 May 2000	-	Yes	-	2002-05 May 2002	Invited: April 2008, Expected: 2009[5]
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	1995-11 November 1995	-	Yes	-	1999-04 April 1999	Vetoed by Greece on April 3, 2008, Only conditional invitation.[6]
Georgia	1994-03 March 1994	2004-10 October 2004	Yes	2006-09 September 2006[7]	2008-12 Expected December 2008	-
Ukraine	1994-02 February 1994	-	Yes	2005-04 April 2005	2008-12 Expected December 2008	-
Montenegro	2006-12 December 2006	-	Yes	2008-04 April 2008[8]	2010-04 Expected April 2010	-
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2006-12 December 2006	2008-01 January 2008[9]	Yes	2008-04 April 2008	-	-
Serbia	2006-12 December 2006	-	No	-	-	-
Azerbaijan	1994-05 May 1994	2005-05 May 2005	No[10]	-	-	-
Armenia	1994-10 October 1994	2005-12 December 2005	No[11]	-	-	-
Kazakhstan	1994-05 May 1994	2006-01 January 2006	No	-	-	-
Moldova	1994-05 May 1994	2006-05 May 2006	-	-	-	-
Finland	1994-05 May 1994	-	No	-	-	-
Sweden	1994-05 May 1994	-	No	-	-	-
Turkmenistan	1994-05 May 1994	-	No	-	-	-
Kyrgyzstan	1994-06 June 1994	-	No	-	-	-
Russia	1994-06 June 1994	-	No	-	-	-
Uzbekistan	1994-07 July 1994	-	No	-	-	-
Belarus	1995-01 January 1995	-	No	-	-	-
Austria	1995-02 February 1995	-	No	-	-	-
Switzerland	1996-12 December 1996	-	No	-	-	-
Ireland	1999-12 December 1999	-	No	-	-	-
Tajikistan	2002-02 February 2002	-	No	-	-	-
Cyprus	Pending resolution of the Cyprus dispute	-	-	-	-	-
Malta	2008-04 Former signatory, 1995–1996; membership reactivated in 2008[12]	-	No	-	-	-

[edit] Dialogue about membership

[edit] Albania

Albania was among the first Eastern European countries to join the PFP programme. Albanian politicians have considered admission to NATO a top priority. Since 1992 Albania has been extensively engaged with NATO and has maintained its position as a stability factor and a strong ally of USA and EU in the troubled and divided region of the Balkans. In addition to the political will, the overwhelming majority (95% ^[13]) of the Albanian population supports NATO membership. Albania was invited to join NATO during the 2008 Bucharest Summit on 3 April 2008. Full admission to the alliance is expected to happen during 2009.

[edit] Croatia

The Croatian government considers NATO membership a top priority^[14]. However, although a 2003 opinion poll showed that about 60% of Croatians were in favour of NATO membership,^[15] the support for membership declined after 2003 dropping to only 29% in 2006. In 2007 it increased somewhat.^[16][14] For the time being it is not clear how Croatia will make the final decision about the membership i.e. will an act of parliament suffice or should a referendum be held. On 23 March 2007 the Croatian president Stjepan Mesić, Prime minister Ivo Sanader and President of parliament Vladimir Šeks declared that Croatian constitution does not call for a referendum on this issue.^[17] In 2006 the Croatian government was planning to start a media campaign to promote the benefits of membership. A May 2007 poll commissioned by the government showed that NATO membership was backed by 52% of the population (9 points up from March) and 25% was against.^[18]

Recently a newspaper report suggested that a Slovenian military air base in Cerklje ob Krki, a town near the Croatian border, would be transformed into a NATO base. When in 2010 the base becomes operational the military planes stationed there will have to use Croatian air space.^[19] Local inhabitants and environmentalists from both sides of the border have been expressing their concerns about this plan.

On 4 January 2008 Croatian Prime minister Ivo Sanader reached a coalition agreement with partners from HSS and HSLS to form a new government. According to a provision of the said agreement Croatia's entry into NATO will not be decided on a referendum.^[20]

At the NATO summit in Bucharest on April 3, 2008 Croatia received the invitation to join the alliance.^[21][21] Full admission to the alliance is expected to happen in 2009.

[edit] Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina started the process of "intense dialogue" at the 2008 Bucharest Summit and expects to join NATO between 2012 and 2015.^[22]

[edit] Finland

Finland is participating in nearly all sub-areas of the Partnership for Peace programme, and has provided peacekeeping forces to the Afghanistan and Kosovo missions. Polls in Finland indicate that the public is strongly against NATO membership^[23] and the possibility of Finland's membership in NATO was one of the most important issues debated in relation to the Finnish presidential election of 2006.

The main contester of the presidency, Sauli Niinistö of the National Coalition Party, supported Finland joining a "more European" NATO. Fellow right-winger Henrik Lax of the Swedish People's Party likewise supported the concept. On the other side, president Tarja Halonen of the Social Democratic Party opposed changing the status quo, as did most other candidates in the election. Her victory and re-election to the post of president has currently put the issue of a NATO membership for Finland on hold for at least the duration of her term. Finland could however change its official position on NATO membership after the new E.U. treaty clarifies if there will be any new EU–level defence deal, but in the meantime Helsinki's defence ministry is pushing to join NATO and its army is making technical preparations for membership,^[24] stating that it would increase Finland's security.^[25]

Other political figures of Finland who have weighed in with opinions include former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari who has argued that Finland should join all the organisations supported by other Western democracies in order "to shrug off once and for all the burden of Finlandization".^[26] An ex-president, Mauno Koivisto, opposes the idea, arguing that NATO membership would ruin Finland's relations with Russia. Finland has received some very critical feedback from Russia for even considering the possibility of joining NATO.^[27]

[edit] Montenegro

Montenegro joined the PFP programme at the 2006 Riga Summit. In November of 2007, Montenegro signed a transit agreement with NATO, allowing the alliance's troops to move across the country.^[28] Montenegro then signed an agreement with the United States, in which Montenegro will destroy its outdated weaponry as a precondition for NATO membership.^[29] In late 2007, Montenegro's Defence Minister Boro Vučinić said that Montenegro would intensify its accession to the alliance after the 2008 Bucharest summit.^[30] Montenegro has received support for its membership from many NATO countries, including Romania and Turkey.^[31][32] It was announced that Montenegro would adopt an Individual Partnership Action Plan in March of 2008.^[33]

Nearly all present political currents support NATO admission. The exceptions include the Serb List political alliance which cites the NATO 1999 bombing campaign of the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and opposes recognition of independence of neighbouring Kosovo, as well as the Liberal Party of Montenegro which favors military neutrality to the type of Iceland. According to an October 2007 poll, 32.4% of Montenegrins are in support of NATO membership, 40.7% are opposed and 26.9% are without opinion.^[34]

[edit] Serbia

During the 2006 Riga Summit Serbia joined the PFP programme. While this programme is often the first step towards full NATO membership, it is uncertain whether Serbia perceives it as signalling her intent to join the alliance^[35] (NATO fought Bosnian-Serbian forces during the Bosnia war and Serbia during the 1999 Kosovo conflict). An overwhelming Serbian majority opposes NATO membership.^[35] Recently the DS party of Serbia which is seen as overwhelmingly pro-EU has given hints that it is also wished to integrate the country into NATO. Although they remain silent on the issue, it is facing a problem from its coalition partners DSS and NS which are diametrically opposed to NATO membership. Recently these parties have begun verbal attacks on NATO for its presence in the Serbian province of Kosovo accusing them of establishing a NATO state, governed from KFOR (Kosovo Force) Main Headquarters in Pristina. Although current Serbian priorities do not include NATO membership, the Alliance has offered Serbia to enter the intensified dialogue programme^[36] whenever Serbia is ready to do so (as of April 2008).^[37] An earlier poll (September 2007) showed that 28% of Serbian citizens supported NATO membership, with 58% supporting the Partnership for Peace.^[38]

As of NATO's open support to Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, support for NATO greatly succumbed and the only political party which supports NATO integration is the minor opposition Liberal Democratic Party. The Democratic Party abandoned its pro-NATO attitude, claiming the Partnership for Peace is enough.

[edit] Sweden

In 1949 Sweden elected^{[citation needed]} not to join NATO and declared a security policy aiming for: non-alignment in peace, neutrality in war. A modified version now states: non-alignment in peace for possible neutrality in war. This position was maintained without much discussion during the Cold War. The Swedish government decided not to participate in the membership of NATO because they wanted a neutral position in war status. Since the 1990s however there has been an active debate in Sweden on the question of NATO membership in the post-Cold War world.^{[citation needed]} While the governing parties in Sweden have opposed membership, they have participated in NATO-led missions in Bosnia (IFOR and SFOR), Kosovo (KFOR) and Afghanistan (ISAF).

The Swedish Centre Party and Social Democratic party have remained in favour of non-alignment. This view is shared by Green and Left parties in Sweden. The Moderate Party and the Liberal party lean toward NATO membership.^{[citation needed]} Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt stated on September 18, 2007 that Swedish membership in NATO would require a "very wide" majority in Parliament, including the social democrats, and coordination with Finland.^[39]

These ideological divides were visible again in November 2006 when Sweden could either buy two new transport planes or join NATO's plane pool,^[40] and in December 2006, when Sweden was invited to join the NATO Response Force.^[41]

A 2005 poll indicated that more Swedes were opposed to NATO membership than there were supporters (46% against, 22% for).^[42] Another poll in May 2008 showed that 37 % of the Swedes are in favour of a membership, while 41 % are against. The support has risen dramatically since March 2008, when only 29 % were in favour.^[43]

[edit] Ukraine

At the beginning of 2008, the Ukrainian President, Prime Minister and head of parliament sent an official letter to apply for MAP.

Ukraine Defence Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko declared that Ukraine would have an Action Plan on NATO membership by the end of March 2006, to begin implementation by September 2006. A final decision concerning Ukraine's membership in NATO is expected to be made in 2008, with full membership possible by 2010.^[44]

The idea of Ukrainian membership in NATO has gained support from a number of NATO leaders, including President Traian Băsescu of Romania^[45] and president Ivan Gašparovič of Slovakia.^[46] The Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Alexander Grushko, announced however that NATO membership for Ukraine was not in Russia's best interests and wouldn't help the relations of the two countries.^[47]

Current public opinion in Ukraine on NATO membership is not clear. A poll commissioned by the government showed that 47 percent support joining NATO and 45 are opposed ^[48], but on the other side a poll taken by Russian non-government news agency Interfax has shown that less than 20% of respondents are in support of Ukraine joining NATO, with 57% against.^[49] Protests have taken place by opposition blocs against the idea, and petitions signed urging the end of relations with NATO. Newly appointed Defence Minister and former Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov has stated Ukraine will not join NATO as long as the public continues opposing the move.^[50] . This has also been confirmed by a March 6, 2008 agreement between the parliamentary coalition and opposition parties which says that any international agreements regarding Ukraine’s entry to NATO must be decided by referendum Currently the Ukrainian Government started an information campaign, aimed at informing the Ukrainian people about the consequences of membership.

April 4 2008 at final press conference of summit in Bucharest NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer declared in a press conference that, without doubt, Georgia and Ukraine will join NATO. Within the NATO Ukraine working Commission, NATO officials reassured Ukraine officials that they are willing to invite their country to join the Alliance.

[edit] Sources and References