NATO’s Evolution Since July 1997: A Selected Chronology

NATO’s Evolution Since July 1997: A Selected Chronology

98-10 F
December 24, 1997
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
NATO’s Evolution Since July 1997:
A Selected Chronology
Louis R. Golino
Research Assistant
Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division
Summary
The following chronology highlights major developments in NATO from July to
December 19971. The principal issues and themes include: 1.) renovation of NATO’s
integrated military command structure; 2.) development of the European Security and
Defense Identity, or European pillar, in NATO; 3.) implementation of the Combined
Joint Task Forces headquarters concept; 4.) the relationships of France, Spain, Greece
and Turkey to NATO; 5.) the relationship between the Western European Union and
NATO; 6.) NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Bosnia; 7.) current NATO enlargement;
and 8.) the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council.
July 1997
2- The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that the conditions France
set for a possible return to NATO’s integrated command have not been met despite some
progress in creating a European Security and Defense Identity (ESDI) within NATO.
3- Spanish Defense Minister Eduardo Serra confirmed that a sub-regional command
would be installed in the Madrid region when Spain enters NATO’s command structure.
8-9- NATO leaders meeting in Madrid formally invited Poland, Hungary and the
Czech Republic to become NATO members. France and other allies had wanted the
alliance to invite Romania and Slovenia as well.
8- Spain announced at the Madrid summit its readiness to participate fully in the
alliance’s new integrated command structure once agreement on it had been reached.
1 For more on NATO internal developments after July 1997, see Louis R. Golino, “NATO
Internal Adaptation: The New Command Structure and the Future of the European Pillar,” CRS
Report 98-9 F. See also, Stanley R. Sloan and J. Michelle Forrest, “NATO’s Evolution: A
Selected Chronology from the Fall of the Berlin Wall to the Madrid Summit 1989-1997,” CRS
Report 97-725 F.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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At the Madrid summit, Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Turkish President
Suleyman Demirel signed a declaration of commitment to develop “good neighborly
relations” and resolve their disputes with each other by peaceful means. According to
Simitis, this would amount to a non-aggression pact.
9- In a press conference following the Madrid summit, French President Jacques
Chirac said that “France has no intention of increasing its contribution to NATO as a
result of the enlargement.” He also said “Today NATO is in fact a peacekeeping body;
a system designed to manage crises with far fewer means, both in terms of equipment and
infrastructure. I can not see why this should cost more.” On the issue of France rejoining
NATO’s integrated military structure, he said that France feels no pressure in its
discussions with NATO and “...sees no landmark in the month of December that should
impose anything.”
11- General Wesley Clark succeeded General George Joulwan as Supreme Allied
Commander Europe (SACEUR).
22- The Western European Union (WEU) issued a declaration on its role in
European security and its relationship with NATO and the European Union (EU) to be
annexed to the final act of the EU treaty. In particular, the declaration says “...the WEU
will develop its role as the European politico-military body for crisis management,
contribute to the progressive framing of a common defense policy and carry forward its
concrete implementation through the further development of its own operational role.”
29- A military exercise, “Cooperative Safeguard ‘97,” was conducted in which
NATO and Partnership for Peace (PfP) nations helped evacuate civilian victims after a
simulated earthquake in Iceland.
August 1997
1- A NATO naval exercise, INVITEX, was conducted in the Mediterranean. It was
designed to highlight the challenge of communications interoperability for the alliance.
27- French President Chirac addressed France’s corps of ambassadors at the Elysee
palace and repeated his view that the Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH)
command should in the future go to a European officer. He also said the AFSOUTH issue
would continue to shape France’s future relations with NATO and called for increased
European defense cooperation, especially among European armaments industries.
September 1997
2- French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin addressed France’s leading defense
university, the Institut des Hautes Etudes en Defense Nationale, and called for a
“profound renovation” of the alliance and “a real re-balancing of responsibilities between
Americans and Europeans.”
10- NATO accession negotiations began with Hungary. On September 16 accession
negotiations began with Poland, and on September 23, with the Czech Republic.

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17- The North Atlantic Council was given a report by alliance military leaders on the
NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) operation in Bosnia in the aftermath of the
municipal elections in Bosnia on September 13-14.
September 23- October 9- 14 NATO nations conducted Operation “Dynamic Mix
97" in the AFSOUTH region to practice deployment, re-deployment, integrated
communications and ability to deal with simultaneous crises.

25-27- French President Chirac visited Moscow and during talks with Russian
President Yeltsin called for “a major Franco-Russian partnership in the service of Europe”
and stated that France’s position on the Europeanization of the alliance is somewhere
between the views of Russia and the United States.
26- NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council (PJC) held its first ministerial-level
meeting in New York. Foreign Ministers discussed their approaches to the situation in
Bosnia and the work of the PJC through the end of the year.
29- Paul Quiles, Socialist Chairman of the French Parliament’s Defense Committee,
told Defense News that there is no reason for France to reintegrate with NATO “without
a real discussion of the organization’s objectives,” and that there will be no ESDI unless
Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) headquarters can be used without American approval.
October 1997
1-2- NATO defense ministers held an informal meeting in Maastricht, Netherlands
that included discussions on internal adaptation and enlargement. French Defense
Minister Alain Richard said France would not rejoin NATO’s command structure this
year but would continue to participate in the alliance through implementation of the CJTF
concept, NATO defense planning with the WEU, and through new consultative bodies
such as the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. Richard also said there had been progress
in establishing a NATO chain of command for WEU-led NATO missions and in
assigning increased European responsibilities to the deputy SACEUR position, which is
held by a European officer.
Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic presented their national defense plans to
NATO. The Czech republic will increase defense spending in 1998 by 27% over the 1997
level to $1.05 billion. By 2000, Czech defense spending is planned to be 2% of Gross
Domestic Product (GDP). Hungary plans to increase defense spending, which is now
1.3% of GDP, by .1% each year until it reaches 1.8% by 2000-2001. Poland has a 15 year
plan to increase defense spending by 3% more than the overall budget. Defense Secretary
Cohen said European governments need to recognize that enlargement will have costs and
rejected the view expressed by some Europeans that these costs can be financed simply
by shifting current defense spending.
2- During the Maastricht meeting of alliance defense ministers, Spanish Defense
Minister Serra and Portuguese Defense Minister Vitorino announced an agreement on the
Canary Islands. According to the agreement, Spain’s future sub-regional command and
the Canary Islands will be under the SACEUR, while Portugal and the Azores will remain
under the SACLANT (Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic).

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7- Senate Foreign Relations Committee opened a series of hearings on NATO
enlargement. On the first day of hearings, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
explained the Clinton Administration’s plans for NATO enlargement and promised to
ensure that European allies pay their fair share of associated costs. Additional hearings
were held by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on pros and cons of NATO
enlargement; NATO enlargement costs and burden sharing; NATO-Russia relations; and
public views on NATO enlargement.
10- Spain and the United States renewed their bilateral defense pact signed in 1989
effective through May 4, 1999.
At a meeting of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, Spanish Prime
Minister Jose Maria Aznar and British Prime Minister Tony Blair held a meeting during
which Aznar said Spain would not make any concessions on bilateral issues relating to
Spain’s claims to recover sovereignty over Gibraltar.
11- A North Atlantic Assembly meeting was held in Bucharest, Romania. Alliance
parliamentarians noted the lack of progress in creating the ESDI, asked that work on the
CJTF be finalized and hoped that the new NATO command structure plans would
facilitate the inclusion of France and Spain. In addition, the parliamentarians said that the
need for a post-SFOR NATO presence in Bosnia should be considered.
16- A Greek transport plane carrying Greek Defense Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos
returning from Cyprus was approached by Turkish fighter aircraft over the Aegean Sea.
This was the second such incident over a three-day period.
21- Secretary of Defense Cohen and Secretary of State Albright told the Senate
Committee on Appropriations that NATO enlargement will cost less than previously
estimated because the Administration’s earlier estimate was based on the assumption
there would be four, rather than three, new members. Cohen also said the military
infrastructure of the three new prospective members is in better condition than previously
thought. He added that the Czech Republic lags behind Poland and Hungary in military
capability but is determined to reach the level of the other two states by 2000. Additional
hearings were held by the Senate Appropriations Committee on the cost of NATO
enlargement on Oct. 22 and 23. On October 21 and 29 the Senate Budget Committee
also held hearings on NATO enlargement.
22- NATO Secretary-General Solana cautioned the United States not to use
enlargement of the alliance to pressure the Europeans to increase their defense spending.
28- Military Chiefs of Staff of the WEU decided to form a military committee which
will plan potential European military operations for humanitarian and peacekeeping
purposes.
Spanish Defense Minister Serra said Spain and Great Britain would hold bilateral
negotiations on the future of military bases and personnel in Gibraltar after the new
NATO structure is announced.
November 1997

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3- Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz
met during the Interbalkan conference in Crete, Greece but produced no significant
progress in resolving the Aegean crisis between Greece and Turkey. The two leaders
agreed nonetheless on the need to maintain a dialogue with each other.
5- NATO Military Committee sources told El Mundo, a Spanish newspaper, that
defense of the Canary Islands will be assigned to the Mediterranean regional command
of AFSOUTH based in Naples.
10- Fifth and final round of accession talks held between NATO and Hungary.
16-22 NATO conducted a land-based CJTF trial, “Allied Effort ‘97,” in Munster,
Germany. Spanish and French troops participated in the trial.
16- Hungarians voted in favor of NATO membership in a national referendum (with
85% voting yes to membership with just under 50% of qualified voters participating).
The two other new members, Poland and the Czech Republic, do not plan to hold
referenda.
17- Hungary sent a letter of intent to join the alliance to NATO Secretary-General
Solana which was made public on November 20. NATO Secretary-General Solana said
that receipt of this letter marked the official end of accession talks.
17-18- The WEU held a summit of its ministerial council of foreign and defense
ministers in Erfurt, Germany. The council agreed to coordinate presidencies of the WEU
and the EU beginning in 1999, and said that the WEU and NATO will work closely with
each other in the event of a crisis situation to produce a coordinated decision on a military
operation. Enhanced military cooperation was offered to Austria, Denmark, Finland,
Ireland and Sweden, which are WEU observer states, as well as to Iceland, Norway and
Turkey, which are WEU associate members, through participation in peacekeeping
operations. Finally, the Western European Armaments Group (WEAG), a subsidiary
organization of the WEU, agreed to work toward the development of a European
armaments agency, and Sweden joined the WEAG.
24- Fourth meeting of the NATO-Russia PJC at ambassadorial level took place in
Brussels. Ambassadors discussed NATO-Russia cooperation on peacekeeping efforts and
progress in the Dayton peace process in the former Yugoslavia.
December 1997
1- The NATO Military Committee, meeting in Brussels, announced that Greece and
Turkey had reached an agreement on sharing control of military flights in the Aegean Sea
area from sub-regional commands based in Larissa, Greece and Izmir, Turkey.

2- Great Britain agreed to de-link its bilateral negotiations with Spain over Gibraltar
from NATO’s efforts to produce a new command structure, which paved the way for an
agreement on the new structure.

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2- NATO’s Military Committee discussed the alliance’s ongoing SFOR mission in
Bosnia, and General Clark, the SACEUR, said that the reconstruction of Bosnia could
collapse and war could resume unless NATO maintains a peacekeeping force in Bosnia
after June 1998.
2-3- NATO’s Defense Planning Committee, Nuclear Planning Group, Euro-Atlantic
Partnership Council in defense ministers session and North Atlantic Council in defense
ministers session met in Brussels. These discussions were focused primarily on NATO
adaptation, NATO enlargement and Bosnia. NATO Secretary-General Solana announced
alliance agreement in principle on a new command structure that reduces the number of
commands from 65 to 20 and will include Spain but not France. France abstained from
the decision on the new command structure but did participate in the North Atlantic
Council in defense ministers session.
Alliance leaders welcomed the conclusion of accession talks with Poland, Hungary
and the Czech Republic and approved NATO’s study on the estimated direct, shared costs
of integrating the three new members. The total cost for commonly funded items is
estimated to be $1.3-1.5 billion over ten years. The new members will contribute
annually to NATO’s common funds as follows: Poland 2.48% ($44 million); the Czech
Republic .9% ($16 million); and Hungary .65% ($11.5 million).
NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council met for the first time in defense ministers
session. The council reviewed developments in Bosnia, and the participants agreed that
the experience the alliance gained there would be useful for enhanced NATO-Russia
cooperation on crisis management.
9-10- The Bosnia Peace Implementation Council met in Bonn during which Carlos
Westendorp, the international community’s High Representative in Bosnia, called on
Serb, Moslem and Croat factions to respect the Dayton peace process.
16-17 The North Atlantic Council in foreign ministers session met in Brussels and
endorsed the December 2 agreement in principle on the new NATO command structure.
Protocols of accession were signed between the alliance and Poland, Hungary and the
Czech Republic. NATO defense ministers approved politico-military guidance for NATO
military authorities who are developing options for a NATO-led military presence in
Bosnia after June 1998. NATO-Russia PJC held a foreign ministers ministerial meeting
to review the activities of the PJC planned for 1998.