Letter to Congressional Leaders Transmitting a Report on North Atlantic Treaty Organization Enlargement

Dear Mr. Chairman:

Pursuant to section 3(2)(E)(i) of the Resolution of Ratification to the Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the Accession of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic adopted on April 30, 1998, I am pleased to submit the enclosed report on the Future Enlargement of NATO.

In doing so, I note with appreciation the continued and strong bipartisan support that the Congress has shown on the issue of NATO's next round of enlargement.

The report provides the following information for each of the three current NATO aspirants:

(I) An evaluation of how each country will further the principles of the North Atlantic Treaty and contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area;

(II) An evaluation of the eligibility of each country for membership based on the principles and criteria identified by NATO and the United States, including the military readiness of each country;

(III) An explanation of how an invitation to each country would affect the national security interests of the United States;

(IV) An up-to-date United States Government analysis of the common-funded military requirements and costs associated with integrating each country into NATO and an analysis of the shares of those costs to be borne by NATO members, including the United States; and

(V) A preliminary analysis of the implications for the United States defense budget and other United States budgets of integrating each country into NATO.

The report is classified due to the nature of the information it contains assessing aspirants' capabilities and contributions.

Sincerely,

GEORGE W. BUSH