{
  "id": "97-1041",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "97-1041",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 100621,
      "date": "1997-12-08",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:57:09.250941",
      "title": "Senate Consideration of the North Atlantic Treaty and Subsequent Accessions: Historical Overview",
      "summary": "The Senate debate over the original North Atlantic Treaty and three subsequent accessions\n(Greece and Turkey in 1952, Germany in 1955, and Spain in 1982) took place under very different\ncircumstances than the current debate over the proposed accessions of the Czech Republic, Hungary\nand Poland. The historical setting, of course, has fundamentally changed. Then there was a broad\nconsensus in the United States that the Soviet Union posed a threat to U.S. interests in Europe. \nToday, there is an equally broad consensus that there is no such threat. Some issues raised in the\nearlier debates by skeptics and opponents, for example concerning the cost and risks of the\ncommitments entailed, however, may be echoed in the current accession discussions. Equally, some\narguments offered by today's NATO enlargement supporters are similar to rationales advanced on\nbehalf of the original treaty and subsequent enlargements, including support for common values and\nthe benefits of cooperation with like-minded states. In all four cases, the resolutions of ratification\nwere approved without reservations or conditions. \n  In the debate on the North Atlantic Treaty, Senators focused on several issues, including: (1)\nwhether or not the Treaty undermined congressional war powers; (2) the meaning of the article V\ncollective defense provision in the treaty; and (3) the link between the Treaty and the Military\nAssistance Program (MAP) that the administration planned to seek in support of West European self\ndefense capabilities. When the resolution of ratification came to the Senate floor, three reservations\nwere proposed and defeated. The role call vote gave the Senate's consent to treaty ratification by a\nmargin of 82-13.\n  Senate consideration of the membership of Greece and Turkey in NATO ended with a February\n7, 1952 roll-call vote of 73-2 favoring their admission. Debate on the Senate floor centered primarily\non the question of the war-making powers of the Congress. \n  The Senate's consideration of the protocol concerning Germany's membership in NATO came\nafter several years of debate and senatorial involvement in decisions related to the future of European\nsecurity arrangements. When the Senate considered the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949, many\nSenators had then wanted to bring Germany's potential to bear as part of Western defenses. On April\n1, 1955, by a roll call vote of 76-2, the Senate gave its advice and consent to the end of occupation\nand the accession of Germany to the North Atlantic Treaty. \n  On March 16, 1982, Senate action on the Spanish protocol moved swiftly and without\nopposition. No Senator spoke in opposition and, on a division vote, two-thirds of the Senate present\nand voting stood for the affirmative, and the resolution of ratification was agreed to.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Intelligence and National Security",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}