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104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4096

To encourage and expedite the granting of membership in the North Atlantic

Treaty Organization to Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 17, 1996

Mr. HOKE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on International Relations

A BILL

To encourage and expedite the granting of membership in

the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘NATO Enlargement

5 Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress makes the following findings:

8 (1) Since 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Or9 ganization (NATO) has played an essential role in
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1 guaranteeing the security, freedom, and prosperity

2 of the United States and its partners in the Alliance.

3 (2) The NATO Alliance is, and has been since

4 its inception, purely defensive in character, and it

5 poses no threat to any nation. The enlargement of

6 the NATO Alliance to include as full and equal

7 members emerging democracies in Central and East8 ern Europe will not threaten any nation. America’s

9 security, freedom, and prosperity remain linked to

10 the security of the countries of Europe.

11 (3) The sustained commitment of the member

12 countries of NATO to a mutual defense has made

13 possible the democratic transformation of Eastern

14 Europe. Members of the Alliance can and should

15 play a critical role in addressing the security chal16 lenges of the post-Cold War era and in creating the

17 stable environment needed for those emerging de18 mocracies in Central and Eastern Europe to success19 fully complete political and economic transformation.

20 (4) NATO has enlarged its membership on 3

21 different occasions since 1949.

22 (5) Congress has sought to facilitate the further

23 enlargement of NATO at an early date by enacting

24 the NATO Participation Act of 1994 (title II of

25 Public Law 103–447; 22 U.S.C. 1928 note) and the
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1 NATO Participation Act Amendments of 1995 (sec2 tion 585 of Public Law 104–107).

3 (6) As new members of NATO assume the re4 sponsibilities of Alliance membership, the costs of

5 maintaining stability in Europe will be shared more

6 widely. Facilitation of the enlargement process will

7 require current members of NATO, and the United

8 States in particular, to demonstrate the political will

9 needed to build on successful ongoing programs such

10 as the Warsaw Initiative and the Partnership for

11 Peace by making available the resources necessary to

12 supplement efforts prospective new members are

13 themselves undertaking.

14 (7) The United States continues to regard the

15 political independence and territorial integrity of all

16 emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Eu17 rope as vital to European peace and security.

18 (8) Full NATO membership is granted to coun19 tries in Central and Eastern Europe that meet gen20 eral qualifications and that have established a free

21 market economy and a western-style democracy.

22 (9) As Congress seeks to facilitate the further

23 enlargement of NATO, the following new democ24 racies are requesting membership in the NATO Alli-
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1 ance: Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Roma2 nia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

3 (10) Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ro4 mania, Slovakia, and Slovenia are all successful par5 ticipants in the Partnership for Peace program.

6 (11) Under section 203 of the NATO Participa7 tion Act of 1994, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia,

8 along with Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hun9 gary, qualify to receive assistance in making the

10 transition to full NATO membership.

11 (12) In some particular instances, due to spe12 cific conditions, certain NATO members, such as

13 Spain and France, have chosen and have been

14 granted a special status of political membership in

15 NATO.

16 SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF POLICY REGARDING FURTHER

17 ENLARGEMENT OF NATO TO INCLUDE ROMA18 NIA, SLOVAKIA, AND SLOVENIA.

19 In order to expedite the process of NATO enlarge20 ment, grant membership in NATO to all qualifying coun21 tries, and strengthen the stability in Central and Eastern

22 Europe, the Congress declares the following:

23 (1) The President, at the earliest possible date,

24 should encourage other member countries of NATO

25 to start negotiations for the accession to NATO,
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1 along with Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hun2 gary, of Slovakia, Romania, and Slovenia.

3 (2) The pace of the negotiations for accession

4 to NATO by each country described in paragraph

5 (1) should depend on a periodic evaluation of the

6 performance of each such country and, as a result,

7 the date of accession to NATO for each such coun8 try may vary.

9 (3) The special status of ‘‘political member10 ship’’ in NATO, similar to that enjoyed by Spain

11 and France, should be provided for any new member

12 country of NATO if considered to be appropriate by

13 the other member countries of NATO.

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