1. At the Summit meeting in Madrid in July 1997, the sixteen North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) countries took the historic decision to invite the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland to become members of the North Atlantic Alliance, subject to the ratification of the accession protocols by each current member state. This move will increase the population and territory of NATO member countries by 14%, and its borders with non-NATO countries by 31%.[1] The invitation is the culmination of a series of significant changes in the Alliance since the end of the Cold War; changes that have affected the role, mission and purpose of the transatlantic Alliance.

2. Our predecessor Committee reported on issues surrounding NATO in 1995 and 1996.[2] We decided as one of the first tasks after our appointment to re-examine and make recommendations about NATO enlargement. We have sought to publish our report in time for the debate in Parliament which has been promised by the Government before it ratifies the protocols. While we note with regret that Parliament has no formal input into the ratification process, we welcome the prospect of an informed debate on this major development in our international security arrangements and obligations.

3. In this report we explore the context behind enlargement; the possible effects on NATO and on Europe as a whole; the financial costs; and what the future of NATO may hold. Over the past three months we have taken formal evidence from the Secretary of State for Defence, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the Polish Minister for National Defence and, historically, held a joint meeting with the Foreign Affairs Committee to take evidence from the Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary. We visited NATO Headquarters in January 1998, meeting the Secretary General, Javier Solana, and discussed issues surrounding enlargement during our visit to the United States in February 1998. We held many informal meetings with officials, fellow Parliamentarians and military personnel from NATO member countries and aspirant members, as well as the Russian Ambassador to the UK and the Ukrainian Defence Minister: we can echo our predecessors' comment that "scarcely a week has passed without such a visit".[3] The Ministry of Defence, along with many European states, have provided us with written evidence, much of which is published with this report. We are most grateful to the many people who have assisted us with this inquiry.

4. Although it has rightly been pointed out that this is not the first enlargement of NATO,[4] the current round of enlargement cannot meaningfully be compared to previous enlargements; in this case the potential new Allies were members of an alliance, the Warsaw Treaty Organisation (WTO), that was aligned against NATO for decades. The invitees will join NATO's integrated military structure.[5] In this report we will discuss what effect this may have on NATO forces' effectiveness as well as the possible consequences of enlargement for the Alliance's political effectiveness. As the Secretary of State for Defence told us

We are the generation zero now, starting in the post-Cold War world, making decisions that will shape the continent and the safety of the continent for the future.[6]

We cannot afford to get those decisions wrong.

2  The Future of NATO: the 1994 Summit and its Consequences, Tenth Report, Session 1994-95, HC747, and NATO's Southern Flank, Third Report, Session 1995-96, HC 300 Back

3  Tenth Report Session 1994-95, HC 747, para 4 Back

4  Q 784 Back

5  Q 429 Back

6  Q 430 Back