29 April 1998
(Romania making good effort; but not ready yet, Berry says) (380) By Rick Marshall USIA Staff Writer Washington -- If effort and good intentions were enough, Romania would qualify for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization now, a senior Defense Department official said April 29. "Romania is already headed in the right direction," John Berry, assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO affairs, told an audience at the Wilson Center. Romania's improved ties with its neighbors, its participation in the NATO-led forces in Bosnia, and its active role in NATO's Partnership for Peace program have been very positive developments and much appreciated by the United States, he said. Still, Berry conceded with some reluctance, the Defense Department view is that Romania is not fully ready for NATO membership yet. The fact that its defense budget was reduced last year -- albeit for understandable economic reasons -- may mean "a slower road to NATO" is likely, because a number of defense matters cannot be sufficiently addressed. "Romania is doing all it can, as well as it can. It still has considerable way to go," he summed up. Berry suggested that the first indications of how NATO will act with respect to adding a second round of new members will likely surface in December, when NATO officials discuss preparations for the Washington Conference. This is scheduled for April 1999 and will mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Alliance. John Rickert, director the State Department's office of North Central European Affairs and a diplomat with considerable experience in Bucharest, noted that U.S.-Romanian relations are "very healthy and, indeed, excellent" and that the United States is looking forward to the visit of Romanian President Emil Constantinescu, slated for this summer. Rickert praised the strategic partnership which emerged between the two countries since President Clinton's visit to Bucharest last July. This provides a framework for expanded bilateral cooperation on political, economic and military issues, and aims to make Romania as strong a candidate for future NATO membership as possible. The strongest challenge facing Romania, in Rickert's view, lies in restructuring the economy and continuing the privatization effort. "Economic reform must go further, deeper, faster," he commented.