•HRES 558 IH 
tion of 2002, and House Concurrent Resolution 209 
(2003); 
Whereas NATO heads of state and government, meeting in 
Prague on November 21, 2002, invited Bulgaria, Esto-
nia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia 
to commence accession negotiations with NATO; 
Whereas on March 26, 2003, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lith-
uania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia signed accession 
protocols to the Washington Treaty of 1949; 
Whereas on May 8, 2003, the Senate voted 96–0 to give its 
advice and consent to ratification by the United States of 
the seven accession protocols; 
Whereas on March 2, 2004, NATO Secretary General Jaap 
de Hoop Scheffer announced that all 19 NATO members 
had deposited with the United States Government their 
instruments of ratification of the accession protocols; 
Whereas Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slo-
vakia, and Slovenia have reformed their political and eco-
nomic systems in preparation for NATO membership; 
Whereas Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slo-
vakia, and Slovenia have undertaken defense reform pro-
grams that will enable each country to contribute to 
NATO operations and are working to meet the financial 
responsibilities of NATO membership by spending or 
committing to spend at least two percent of their gross 
domestic product on defense; 
Whereas Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slo-
vakia, and Slovenia have contributed to NATO operations 
in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Afghanistan; 
Whereas Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slo-
vakia, and Slovenia are scheduled to become members of
•HRES 558 IH 
NATO on April 2, 2004, and are expected to be wel-
comed by NATO heads of state and government when 
they meet in Istanbul on June 28 and 29, 2004; 
Whereas Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia, the remaining 
countries currently in NATO’s Membership Action Plan, 
signed the United States-Adriatic Charter on May 2, 
2003, thereby affirming their commitment to the values 
and principles of NATO and their desire to join the Alli-
ance at the earliest possible time; 
Whereas in 2003 Congress, in House Concurrent Resolution 
209, urged NATO to invite Albania, Croatia, and Mac-
edonia to join NATO as soon as each of these countries 
respectively demonstrates the ability to assume the re-
sponsibilities of NATO membership through the Member-
ship Action Plan; 
Whereas the Governments of Albania and Macedonia sup-
ported Operation Iraqi Freedom and are contributing 
forces to stabilization operations in Iraq and to the 
NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Af-
ghanistan; and 
Whereas the Government of Croatia elected in November 
2003 has demonstrated its commitment to implementing 
reforms and meeting conditions for integration into Euro-
Atlantic institutions, including the defense reforms nec-
essary for NATO membership, and has contributed forces 
to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force 
in Afghanistan: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) welcomes with enthusiasm the accession of 
Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slo-
•HRES 558 IH 
vakia, and Slovenia to the North Atlantic Treaty Or-
ganization (NATO); 
(2) reaffirms that the process of NATO en-
largement enhances the security of the United 
States and the entire North Atlantic area; 
(3) agrees that the process of NATO enlarge-
ment should be open to potential membership by any 
interested European democracy that meets the cri-
teria for NATO membership as set forth in the 1995 
Study on NATO Enlargement and whose admission 
would further the principles of the Washington 
Treaty of 1949 and would enhance security in the 
North Atlantic area; and 
(4) recommends that NATO heads of state and 
government should review the enlargement process, 
including the applications of Albania, Croatia, and 
Macedonia, at a summit meeting to be held no later 
than 2007.
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