12 March 1999

TEXT: NATO ACCESSION OF CZECH REPUBLIC, HUNGARY AND POLAND

(A State Department information sheet of March 12)  (660)

Washington -- On the eve of the 50th anniversary of NATO (North
Atlantic Treaty Organization), Secretary of State Albright welcomed
its newest members during the March 12 accession ceremony at the
Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri.

Foreign ministers of the Czech Republic, and the Republics of Hungary
and Poland presented their countries' instruments of accession to
Albright for the United States in its role as depository for the North
Atlantic Treaty.

A State Department information sheet noted that "This is the fourth
time that new members have joined NATO: Greece and Turkey were
admitted in 1952, the Federal Republic of Germany in 1955 and Spain in
1982."

The March 12 ceremony is especially significant as it takes place as
NATO prepares to celebrate its 50th Anniversary at the April 23-24
NATO Summit in Washington. Albright has called the upcoming Summit
"the Summit that defines the NATO of the 21st Century."

The entry of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic March 12 brings
the total membership in NATO to 19 countries.

Following is the State Department text:

(begin text)

3/12/99 NATO Accession (Czech Rep., Hungary, Poland)

Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright Welcomes the Czech Republic,
Hungary, and Poland Into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Released by the Bureau of Public Affairs, March 12, 1999 Department of
State, Washington, D.C.

Today Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright will receive
instruments of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty for the Czech
Republic, Hungary, and Poland. The Secretary will represent the United
States in its role as depository for the North Atlantic Treaty. The
original Treaty, which was signed in Washington on April 4, 1949, is
deposited in the archives of the U.S. Department of State Treaty
Office, and any amendment to the text of the Treaty, including changes
in the membership of the Alliance, must be formally notified to the
Department of State in writing before it becomes official. The
accession instruments will be delivered to the Secretary for their
respective countries by foreign ministers Jan Kavan of the Czech
Republic, Janos Martonyi of Hungary, and Bronislaw Geremek of Poland.

Deposit of the instruments of accession marks the final step in a
complex process that formally began with the invitation issued by NATO
leaders at the 1997 Madrid NATO Summit to these three countries to
join the Alliance. Formal enlargement protocols were signed by the
Allies and the three invitees in Brussels in December 1997. In the
course of 1998 the 16 current NATO Allies ratified the enlargement
protocols, allowing NATO Secretary General Solana, in January of this
year, to formally invite the three to accede to the North Atlantic
Treaty. That process will be completed today: the three foreign
ministers will present their ratification instruments and sign the
Proces-Verbal confirming their accession. The Secretary will then sign
the Proces-Verbal acknowledging deposit of the instruments and
formally take possession of them. At that point, all three will be
full members of NATO.

This is the fourth time that new members have joined NATO: Greece and
Turkey were admitted in 1952, the Federal Republic of Germany in 1955
and Spain in 1982. Today's events are especially significant: They
take place as NATO prepares to celebrate its 50th Anniversary at the
April 23-24 NATO Summit in Washington. As Secretary Albright has said,
this will be "the Summit that defines the NATO of the 21st Century."

The selection of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library as the site
for today's event is therefore especially appropriate, as it provides
an opportunity to pay tribute to President Truman and Secretary of
State Dean Acheson, who were among the chief architects of the
Alliance, even as we move to adapt NATO to new and profoundly
different circumstances from those they faced.

(end text)

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