ARTICLE 11 This Treaty shall be ratified and its provisions carried out by the Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional processes. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited as soon as possible with the Government of the United States of America, which will notify all the other signatories of each deposit. The Treaty shall enter into force between the States which have ratified it as soon as the ratifications of the majority of the signatories, including the ratifications of Belgium, Canada, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, have been deposited and shall come into effect with respect to other States on the date of the deposit of their ratifications. ARTICLE 12 After the Treaty has been in force for 10 years, or at any time thereafter, the Parties shall, if any of them so requests, consult together for the purpose of reviewing the Treaty, having regard for the factors then affecting peace and security in the North Atlantic area, including the development of universal as well as regional arrangements under the Charter of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security. ARTICLE 13 After the Treaty has been in force for 20 years, any Party may cease to be a Party 1 year after its notice of denunciation has been given to the Government of the United States of America, which will inform the Governments of the other Parties of the deposit of each notice of denunciation. ARTICLE 14 This Treaty, of which the English and French texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the United States of America. Duly certified copies will be transmitted by that Government to the Governments of other signatories. C. Chronology of NATO Enlargement 04/04/49-The United States, Britain, France, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Iceland, Canada, and the Benelux countries (12 in total) sign the Washington Treaty on forming the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). (Greece and Turkey join NATO in 1952, Germany in 1955, and Spain in 1982.) 01/10-11/94-At a summit meeting in Brussels, Belgium, NATO countries launch the Partnership for Peace (PFP) program of cooperation to former Warsaw Pact countries. The summit document also states that the alliance "expects and would welcome NATO expansion that would reach to democratic states to our east as part of an evolutionary process." 44-069 98-13 11/02/94-President Clinton signs into law P.L. 103-447, which includes the "NATO Participation Act of 1994." The Act expresses the sense of Congress that Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia should be considered for NATO membership. 12/01-02/94-At a North Atlantic Council (NAC) meeting in Brussels, NATO foreign ministers initiate a study process that is to determine the "how and why" of enlargement of the alliance. It is agreed that the results of the study will be presented at the December 1995 ministerial meeting. 09/28/95-NATO releases its "Study on NATO Enlargement." 12/05/95-On the basis of the study on enlargement, NATO foreign ministers decide that the next phase of the enlargement process will entail: intensified, individual dialogue with interested partner countries; enhancement of the Partnership for Peace; and further consideration of internal adaptation of the alliance in preparation for enlargement. Since then, 12 countries express interest in joining NATO and enter the so-called "16+1" dialogs: Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. 02/12/96-President Clinton signs into law P. 104-107, which contains the "NATO Participation Act Amendments of 1995." The act expands military assistance programs to a number of Central European countries, but does not designate specific countries as eligible for NATO membership. 09/23/96 The Fiscal Year 1997 Defense Authorization bill (S. 1745) becomes law (P.L. 104-201). It includes an amendment calling for a study to be conducted by the administration and transmitted to Congress that will analyze the potential costs and strategic implications of alliance expansion. 09/30/96-The President signs into law P.L. 104-208, an omnibus appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 1997, which includes the "NATO Enlargement Facilitation Act of 1996." The Act authorizes funds for the military assistance programs established in the 1994 NATO Participation Act. It designates Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia as having made the most progress toward achieving the stated criteria for NATO membership. 10/22/96-At a re-election campaign speech in Detroit, Michigan, President Clinton pledges that, "by 1999... the first group of countries we invite to join should be full-fledged members of NATO." The President does not specify which countries will be invited. 12/09-10/96—At a ministerial meeting in Brussels, NATO foreign ministers announce that the leaders of NATO countries will convene a summit meeting in Madrid on July 8-9, 1997, and will formally invite "one or more" countries to begin accession negotiations with the alliance. The NAC also declares that NATO counties have "no intention, no plan, and no reason to deploy nuclear weapons on the territory of new members," nor does it foresee any future need to do so. 02/24/97-In accordance with P.L. 104-201 (Section 1048), the administration issues a report to Congress on the enlargement of the North Atlantic Alliance. 05/28-30/97-NATO's North Atlantic Council ministerial meeting in Sintra, Portugal. 06/12-13/97-NATO Defense Ministers' meeting in Portugal. NATO enlargement will be among the subjects of discussion. 07/08-09/97-NATO summit in Madrid. The principal issues will be enlargement, NATO's new missions, Bosnia, and combined joint task forces (CJTF). NATO has stated that it will invite "one or more" countries to begin accession negotiations. end of 1997-NATO hopes to complete accession negotiations with candidate states for membership. spring-summer 1998-The U.S. Senate may vote on accession protocols for candidate countries seeking NATO membership. April 1999-Target date for entry of new members into NATO. D. Helsinki Summit Declaration THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF THE PRESS SECRETARY HELSINKI, FINLAND For Immediate Release JOINT STATEMENT JOINT U.S.-RUSSIAN STATEMENT ON EUROPEAN SECURITY Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin discussed the present security situation in the Euro-Atlantic region. They reaffirmed their commitment to the shared goal of building a stable, secure, integrated and undivided democratic Europe. The roles of the United States and Russia as powers with worldwide responsibilities place upon them a special requirement to cooperate closely to this end. They confirmed that this cooperation will be guided by the spirit of openness and pragmatism which has increasingly come to characterize the U.S.-Russian relationship in recent years. Recalling their May 1995 Joint Statement on European Security, the Presidents noted that lasting peace in Europe should be based on the integration of all of the continent into a series of mutually supporting institutions and relationships that ensure that there will be no return to division or confrontation. No institution by itself can ensure security. The Presidents agreed that the evolution of security structures should be managed in a way that threatens no state and that advances the goal of building a more stable and integrated Europe. This evolution should be based on a broad commitment to the principles of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe as enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act, the Budapest Code of Conduct and other OSCE documents, including respect for human rights, democracy and political pluralism, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, and their inherent right to choose the means to ensure their own security. The Presidents are convinced that strengthening the OSCE, whose potential has yet to be fully realized, meets the interests of the United States and Russia. The Presidents expressed their satisfaction with the outcome of the Lisbon Summit of the OSCE and agreed on the importance of implementing its decisions, both to define further the goals of security cooperation and to continue to devise innovative methods for carrying out the growing number of tasks the OSCE has assumed. They underscored their commitment to enhance the operational capability of the OSCE as the only framework for European security cooperation providing for full and equal participation of all states. The rule of consensus should remain an inviolable basis for OSCE decisionmaking. The Presidents reaffirmed their commitment to work together in the ongoing OSCE effort to develop a model for security in Europe which takes account of the radically changed situation on the eve of the 21st century and the decisions of the Lisbon Summit concerning a charter on European security. The OSCE's essential role in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its ability to develop new forms of peacekeeping and conflict prevention should also be actively pursued. In their talks in Helsinki, the two Presidents paid special attention to the question of relations between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Russian Federation. They continued to disagree on the issue of NATO enlargement. In order to minimize the potential consequences of this disagreement, the Presidents agreed that they should work, both together and with others, on a document that will establish cooperation between NATO and Russia as an important element of a new comprehensive European security system. Signed by the leaders of the NATO countries and Russia, this document would be an enduring commitment at the highest political level. They further agreed that the NATO-Russia relationship, as defined in this document, should provide for consultation, coordination and, to the maximum extent possible where appropriate, joint decisionmaking and action on security issues of com mon concern. The Presidents noted that the NATO-Russia document would reflect and contribute both to the profound transformation of NATO, including its political and peacekeeping dimension, and to the new realities of Russia as it builds a democratic society. It will also reflect the shared commitment of both NATO and Russia to develop their relations in a manner that enhances mutual security. The Presidents recalled the historic significance of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe in establishing the trust necessary to build a common security space on the continent in the interest of all states in Europe, whether or not they belong to a military or political alliance, and to continue to preclude any destabilizing buildup of forces in different regions of Europe. The Presidents stressed the importance of adapting the CFE Treaty. They agreed on the need to accelerate negotiations among CFE parties with a view to concluding by late spring or early summer of 1997 a framework agreement setting forth the basic elements of an adapted CFE Treaty, in accordance with the objectives and principles of the Document on Scope and Parameters agreed at Lisbon in December 1996. President Yeltsin underscored Russian concerns that NATO enlargement will lead to a potentially threatening buildup of permanently stationed combat forces of NATO near to Russia. President Clinton stressed that the alliance contemplates nothing of the kind. President Yeltsin welcomed President Clinton's statements and affirmed that Russia would exercise similar restraint in its conventional force deployments in Europe. President Clinton also noted NATO's policy on nuclear weapons deployments, as articulated by the North Atlantic Council on December 10, 1996, that NATO members have "no intention, no plan and no reason" to deploy nuclear weapons on the territory of states that are not now members of the alliance, nor do they foresee any future need to do so. President Clinton noted NATO's willingness to include specific reference to this policy in the NATO-Russia document. President Yeltsin spoke in favor of including such a reference in the document. The Presidents agreed that the United States, Russia and all their partners in Europe face many common security challenges that can best be addressed through cooperation among all the states of the Euro-Atlantic area. They pledged to intensify their efforts to build on the common ground identified in their meetings in Helsinki to improve the effectiveness of European security institutions, including by concluding the agreements and arrangements outlined in this statement. FOR THE FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: /S/ RUSSIAN FEDERATION: /S/ E. North Atlantic Council communiqué December 10, 1996 HELD AT NATO HQ, BRUSSELS, 10 DEC 1996 Final Communiqué issued at the Ministerial Meeting of the North Atlantic Council 1. As we look ahead, the new NATO is taking shape, reflecting the fundamental changes in the security environment in Europe and the enduring vitality of the transatlantic partnership which underpins our endeavors. The broad vision of this new NATO and |