109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 4014

AN ACT

To endorse further enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty

Organization (NATO) and to facilitate the timely admission of Albania, Croatia, Georgia, and Macedonia to

NATO, and for other purposes.

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 Freedom Con5 solidation Act of 2006’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) The sustained commitment of the North At4 lantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to mutual de5 fense has made possible the democratic trans6 formation of Central and Eastern Europe. Members

7 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization can and

8 should play a critical role in addressing the security

9 challenges of the post-Cold War era in creating the

10 stable environment needed for those emerging de11 mocracies in Europe.

12 (2) Lasting stability and security in Europe re13 quires the military, economic, and political integra14 tion of emerging democracies into existing European

15 structures.

16 (3) In an era of threats from terrorism and the

17 proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the

18 North Atlantic Treaty Organization is increasingly

19 contributing to security in the face of global security

20 challenges for the protection and interests of its

21 member states.

22 (4) In the NATO Participation Act of 1994

23 (title II of Public Law 103–447; 22 U.S.C. 1928

24 note), Congress declared that ‘‘full and active par25 ticipants in the Partnership for Peace in a position

26 to further the principles of the North Atlantic Trea-
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1 ty and to contribute to the security of the North At2 lantic area should be invited to become full NATO

3 members in accordance with Article 10 of such

4 Treaty at an early date. . .’’.

5 (5) In the NATO Enlargement Facilitation Act

6 of 1996 (title VI of section 101(c) of title I of divi7 sion A of Public Law 104–208; 22 U.S.C. 1928

8 note), Congress called for the prompt admission of

9 Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia

10 to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and de11 clared that ‘‘in order to promote economic stability

12 and security in Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania,

13 Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Moldova, and

14 Ukraine. . .the process of enlarging NATO to include

15 emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Eu16 rope should not be limited to consideration of admit17 ting Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slo18 venia as full members of the NATO Alliance’’.

19 (6) In the European Security Act of 1998 (title

20 XXVII of division G of Public Law 105–277; 22

21 U.S.C. 1928 note), Congress declared that ‘‘Poland,

22 Hungary, and the Czech Republic should not be the

23 last emerging democracies in Central and Eastern

24 Europe invited to join NATO’’ and that ‘‘Romania,

25 Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Bulgaria. . .would
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1 make an outstanding contribution to furthering the

2 goals of NATO and enhancing stability, freedom,

3 and peace in Europe should they become NATO

4 members [and] upon complete satisfaction of all rel5 evant criteria should be invited to become full NATO

6 members at the earliest possible date’’.

7 (7) In the Gerald B. H. Solomon Freedom Con8 solidation Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–187; 22

9 U.S.C. 1928 note), Congress endorsed ‘‘. . .the vision

10 of further enlargement of the NATO Alliance articu11 lated by President George W. Bush on June 15,

12 2001, and by former President William J. Clinton

13 on October 22, 1996’’.

14 (8) At the Madrid Summit of the North Atlan15 tic Treaty Organization in July 1997, Poland, Hun16 gary, and the Czech Republic were invited to join

17 the Alliance, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organi18 zation heads of state and government issued a dec19 laration stating ‘‘[t]he alliance expects to extend fur20 ther invitations in coming years to nations willing

21 and able to assume the responsibilities and obliga22 tions of membership. . .[n]o European democratic

23 country whose admission would fulfill the objectives

24 of the [North Atlantic] Treaty will be excluded from

25 consideration’’.
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1 (9) At the Washington Summit of the North

2 Atlantic Treaty Organization in April 1999, the

3 North Atlantic Treaty Organization heads of state

4 and government issued a communique ́ declaring

5 ‘‘[w]e pledge that NATO will continue to welcome

6 new members in a position to further the principles

7 of the [North Atlantic] Treaty and contribute to

8 peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic area. . .[t]he

9 three new members will not be the last. . .[n]o Euro10 pean democratic country whose admission would ful11 fill the objectives of the Treaty will be excluded from

12 consideration, regardless of its geographic loca13 tion. . .’’.

14 (10) In May 2000 in Vilnius, Lithuania, the

15 foreign ministers of Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lat16 via, Lithuania, the Republic of Macedonia, Romania,

17 Slovakia, and Slovenia issued a statement (later

18 joined by Croatia) declaring that—

19 (A) their countries will cooperate in jointly

20 seeking membership in the North Atlantic

21 Treaty Organization in the next round of en22 largement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organi23 zation;

24 (B) the realization of membership in the

25 North Atlantic Treaty Organization by one or
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1 more of these countries would be a success for

2 all; and

3 (C) eventual membership in the North At4 lantic Treaty Organization for all of these coun5 tries would be a success for Europe and for the

6 North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

7 (11) On June 15, 2001, in a speech in Warsaw,

8 Poland, President George W. Bush stated ‘‘[a]ll of

9 Europe’s new democracies, from the Baltic to the

10 Black Sea and all that lie between, should have the

11 same chance for security and freedom—and the

12 same chance to join the institutions of Europe—as

13 Europe’s old democracies have. . .I believe in NATO

14 membership for all of Europe’s democracies that

15 seek it and are ready to share the responsibilities

16 that NATO brings. . .[a]s we plan to enlarge NATO,

17 no nation should be used as a pawn in the agenda

18 of others. . .[w]e will not trade away the fate of free

19 European peoples. . .[n]o more Munichs. . .[n]o more

20 Yaltas. . .[a]s we plan the Prague Summit, we should

21 not calculate how little we can get away with, but

22 how much we can do to advance the cause of free23 dom’’.

24 (12) On October 22, 1996, in a speech in De25 troit, Michigan, former President William J. Clinton
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1 stated ‘‘NATO’s doors will not close behind its first

2 new members. . .NATO should remain open to all of

3 Europe’s emerging democracies who are ready to

4 shoulder the responsibilities of membership. . .[n]o

5 nation will be automatically excluded. . .[n]o country

6 outside NATO will have a veto. . .[a] gray zone of in7 security must not reemerge in Europe’’.

8 (13) At the Prague Summit of the North Atlan9 tic Treaty Organization in November 2002, Bul10 garia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slo11 vakia, and Slovenia were invited to join the Alliance

12 in the second round of enlargement of the North At13 lantic Treaty Organization since the end of the Cold

14 War, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

15 heads of state and government issued a declaration

16 stating ‘‘NATO’s door will remain open to European

17 democracies willing and able to assume the respon18 sibilities and obligations of membership, in accord19 ance with Article 10 of the Washington Treaty’’.

20 (14) On May 8, 2003, the United States Senate

21 unanimously approved the Resolution of Ratification

22 to Accompany Treaty Document No. 108–4, Proto23 cols to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on Acces24 sion of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Roma25 nia, Slovakia, and Slovenia, inviting Bulgaria, Esto-
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1 nia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slo2 venia to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza3 tion.

4 (15) At the Istanbul Summit of the North At5 lantic Treaty Organization in June 2004, the North

6 Atlantic Treaty Organization heads of state and gov7 ernment issued a communique ́ reaffirming that

8 NATO’s door remains open to new members, declar9 ing ‘‘[w]e celebrate the success of NATO’s Open

10 Door Policy, and reaffirm tody that our seven new

11 members will not be the last. The door to member12 ship remains open. We welcome the progress made

13 by Albania, Croatia, and the former Yugoslav Re14 public of Macedonia (1) in implementing their An15 nual National Programmes under the Membership

16 Action Plan, and encourage them to continue pur17 suing the reforms necessary to progress toward

18 NATO membership. We also commend their con19 tribution to regional stability and cooperation. We

20 want all three countries to succeed and will continue

21 to assist them in their reform efforts. NATO will

22 continue to assess each country’s candidacy individ23 ually, based on the progress made towards reform

24 goals pursued through the Membership Action Plan,

25 which will remain the vehicle to keep the readiness
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1 of each aspirant for membership under review. We

2 direct that NATO Foreign Ministers keep the en3 largement process, including the implementation of

4 the Membership Action Plan, under continual review

5 and report to us. We will review at the next Summit

6 progress by aspirants towards membership based on

7 that report’’.

8 (16) Georgia has stated its desire to join the

9 Euro-Atlantic community, and in particular, is seek10 ing to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

11 Georgia is working closely with the North Atlantic

12 Treaty Organization and its members to meet cri13 teria for eventual membership in NATO.

14 (17) At a press conference with President Mi15 khail Saakashvili of Georgia in Washington, D.C. on

16 July 5, 2006, President George W. Bush stated that

17 ‘‘. . . I believe that NATO would benefit with Georgia

18 being a member of NATO, and I think Georgia

19 would benefit. And there’s a way forward through

20 the Membership Action Plan. . .And I’m a believer in

21 the expansion of NATO. I think it’s in the world’s

22 interest that we expand NATO’’.

23 (18) Following a meeting of NATO Foreign

24 Ministers in New York on September 21, 2006,

25 NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
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1 announced the launching of an Intensified Dialogue

2 on membership between the Alliance and Georgia.

3 (19) Contingent upon their continued imple4 mentation of democratic, defense, and economic re5 form, and their willingness and ability to meet the

6 responsibilities of membership in the North Atlantic

7 Treaty Organization, Congress calls for the timely

8 admission of Albania, Croatia, Georgia, and Mac9 edonia to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to

10 promote security and stability in Europe.

11 (20) The North Atlantic Treaty Organization

12 heads of state and government will hold a North At13 lantic Treaty Organization Summit in Riga, Latvia,

14 in November 2006.

15 SEC. 3. DECLARATIONS OF POLICY.

16 Congress—

17 (1) reaffirms its previous expressions of support

18 for continued enlargement of the North Atlantic

19 Treaty Organization contained in the NATO Partici20 pation Act of 1994, the NATO Enlargement Facili21 tation Act of 1996, the European Security Act of

22 1998, and the Gerald B. H. Solomon Freedom Con23 solidation Act of 2002;

24 (2) supports the commitment to further en25 largement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
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1 to include European democracies that are able and

2 willing to meet the responsibilities of Membership, as

3 expressed by the Alliance in its Madrid Summit Dec4 laration of 1997, its Washington Summit

5 Communique ́ of 1999, its Prague Summit Declara6 tion of 2002, and its Istanbul Summit Communique ́

7 of 2004; and

8 (3) endorses the vision of further enlargement

9 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization articu10 lated by President George W. Bush on June 15,

11 2001, and by former President William J. Clinton

12 on October 22, 1996, and urges our allies in the

13 North Atlantic Treaty Organization to work with the

14 United States to realize a role for the North Atlantic

15 Treaty Organization in promoting global security,

16 including continued support for enlargement to in17 clude qualified candidate states, specifically by enter18 ing into a Membership Action Plan with Georgia and

19 recognizing the progress toward meeting the respon20 sibilities and obligations of NATO membership by

21 Albania, Croatia, Georgia, and Macedonia at the

22 NATO Summit in Riga, Latvia.
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1 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF ALBANIA, CROATIA, GEORGIA,

2 AND MACEDONIA AS ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE

3 ASSISTANCE UNDER THE NATO PARTICIPA4 TION ACT OF 1994.

5 (a) DESIGNATION.—

6 (1) ALBANIA.—The Republic of Albania is des7 ignated as eligible to receive assistance under the

8 program established under section 203(a) of the

9 NATO Participation Act of 1994 (title II of Public

10 Law 103–447; 22 U.S.C. 1928 note), and shall be

11 deemed to have been so designated pursuant to sec12 tion 203(d)(1) of such Act.

13 (2) CROATIA.—The Republic of Croatia is des14 ignated as eligible to receive assistance under the

15 program established under section 203(a) of the

16 NATO Participation Act of 1994, and shall be

17 deemed to have been so designated pursuant to sec18 tion 203(d)(1) of such Act.

19 (3) GEORGIA.—Georgia is designated as eligible

20 to receive assistance under the program established

21 under section 203(a) of the NATO Participation Act

22 of 1994, and shall be deemed to have been so des23 ignated pursuant to section 203(d)(1) of such Act.

24 (4) MACEDONIA.—The Republic of Macedonia

25 is designated as eligible to receive assistance under

26 the program established under section 203(a) of the
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1 NATO Participation Act of 1994, and shall be

2 deemed to have been so designated pursuant to sec3 tion 203(d)(1) of such Act.

4 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The designation of

5 the Republic of Albania, the Republic of Croatia, Georgia,

6 and the Republic of Macedonia pursuant to subsection (a)

7 as eligible to receive assistance under the program estab8 lished under section 203(a) of the NATO Participation

9 Act of 1994—

10 (1) is in addition to the designation of Poland,

11 Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia pursu12 ant to section 606 of the NATO Enlargement Facili13 tation Act of 1996 (title VI of section 101(c) of title

14 I of division A of Public Law 104–208; 22 U.S.C.

15 1928 note), the designation of Romania, Estonia,

16 Latvia, Lithuania, and Bulgaria pursuant to section

17 2703(b) of the European Security Act of 1998 (title

18 XXVII of division G of Public Law 105–277; 22

19 U.S.C. 1928 note), and the designation of Slovakia

20 pursuant to section 4(a) of the Gerald B. H. Sol21 omon Freedom Consolidation Act of 2002 (Public

22 Law 107–187; 22 U.S.C. 1928 note) as eligible to

23 receive assistance under the program established

24 under section 203(a) of the NATO Participation Act

25 of 1994; and
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1 (2) shall not preclude the designation by the

2 President of other countries pursuant to section

3 203(d)(2) of the NATO Participation Act of 1994 as

4 eligible to receive assistance under the program es5 tablished under section 203(a) of such Act.

6 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF SECURITY ASSISTANCE FOR

7 COUNTRIES DESIGNATED UNDER THE NATO

8 PARTICIPATION ACT OF 1994.

9 Of the amounts made available for fiscal year 2007

10 under section 23 of the Arms Export Control Act (22

11 U.S.C. 2763)—

12 (1) $3,200,000 is authorized to be available on

13 a grant basis for the Republic of Albania;

14 (2) $3,000,000 is authorized to be available on

15 a grant basis for the Republic of Croatia;

16 (3) $10,000,000 is authorized to be available on

17 a grant basis for Georgia; and

18 (4) $3,600,000 is authorized to be available on

19 a grant basis for the Republic of Macedonia.

20 SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

21 Congress affirms that it stands ready to consider, and

22 if all applicable criteria are satisfied, to support efforts

23 by Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza-
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1 tion, should Ukraine decide that is wishes to pursue mem2 bership in the Alliance.

Passed the Senate November 16, 2006.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 4014

AN ACT

To endorse further enlargement of the North Atlanposes. gia, and Macedonia to NATO, and for other pur- the timely admission of Albania, Croatia, Geor- tic Treaty Organization (NATO) and to facilitate