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105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 5

Expressing the sense of Congress that the extension of membership in the

North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 to certain democracies of Central and

Eastern Europe is essential to the consolidation of enduring peace and

stability in Europe.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 5, 1997

Mr. ROTH (for himself, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. LUGAR, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr.

HAGEL, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. ENZI, and Ms. MOSELEYBRAUN) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress that the extension of membership in the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 to certain

democracies of Central and Eastern Europe is essential

to the consolidation of enduring peace and stability in

Europe.

Whereas the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is

a community of democracies that continues to play a critical role in addressing the security challenges of the postCold War era and in creating an environment of enduring

peace and stability in Europe;

Whereas NATO remains the only security alliance with both

real defense capabilities and transatlantic membership;
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Whereas the North Atlantic Council held a ministerial meeting on December 10, 1996, at NATO Headquarters in

Brussels, Belgium, and—

(1) decided to hold a summit meeting on July 8 and

9, 1997, during which it will extend invitations to accession negotiations to one or more countries that have participated in the process of intensified dialogue with

NATO;

(2) established for the North Atlantic Alliance the

goal of welcoming one or more new members by the time

of the Alliance’s fiftieth anniversary in 1999;

(3) announced that the Council seeks to reach

agreement with the Russian Federation on arrangements

that would widen and deepen the current relationship between the Russian Federation and NATO in order to enhance security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area;

and

(4) announced its commitment to further developing

and reinforcing a distinctive and effective relationship

with Ukraine;

Whereas Congress has repeatedly endorsed, with bipartisan

majorities, the enlargement of NATO through the enactment of legislation that includes the NATO Participation

Act of 1994, the NATO Participation Act Amendments

of 1995, and the NATO Enlargement Facilitation Act of

1996;

Whereas the North Atlantic Assembly, a multinational body

composed of delegations from the 16 signatory nations of
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the North Atlantic Treaty, has called for the Alliance to

welcome new members through the adoption of resolutions, including Resolution 255 (1994) entitled ‘‘NATO

Partnership for Peace and the Enlargement Process’’,

Resolution 268 (1996) entitled ‘‘On a Wider Alliance for

Enhanced Stability and Freedom’’, and Resolution 271

(1996) entitled ‘‘Toward the 1997 NATO Summit’’;

Whereas the enlargement of NATO, a defensive alliance,

threatens no nation and reinforces peace and stability in

Europe, the enlargement of NATO would provide benefits

to all nations;

Whereas NATO has extended its membership to additional

nations on three different occasions since its founding in

1949; and

Whereas the new members of the North Atlantic Alliance

must assume all the rights and obligations under the

North Atlantic Treaty, signed at Washington on April 4,

1949: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives

2 concurring), That Congress—

3 (1) regards the political independence and terri4 torial integrity of the emerging democracies in

5 Central and Eastern Europe as vital to European

6 peace and security and, thus, to the interests of the

7 United States;

8 (2) endorses the goal established by the North

9 Atlantic Council to welcome one or more new mem10 bers by the time of the fiftieth anniversary of the

11 North Atlantic Alliance in 1999;
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1 (3) calls upon the Alliance to extend invitations

2 to accession negotiations to those nations who seek

3 membership in NATO and who are ready to make

4 a net contribution to the Alliance’s security by 1999,

5 including Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and

6 Slovenia;

7 (4) endorses the commitment of the North At8 lantic Council further to develop and reinforce a dis9 tinctive and effective relationship between the Alli10 ance and Ukraine;

11 (5) endorses the pledge of the North Atlantic

12 Council that the Alliance will remain open to the ac13 cession of further members in accordance with Arti14 cle 10 of the Washington Treaty;

15 (6) endorses the Alliance’s decision to seek a

16 charter with Russia that reflects the common inter17 est that Russia and the Alliance have in reinforcing

18 enduring peace and stability in Europe;

19 (7) calls upon the President to fully use his of20 fices to facilitate the objectives and commitments de21 scribed in paragraphs (2) through (6); and

22 (8) reserves the right of advice and consent to

23 the ratification of treaties and pledges seriously and
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1 responsibly to review the results of accession nego2 tiations between the North Atlantic Council and pro3 spective NATO members.

4 SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit

5 a copy of this concurrent resolution to the President.

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