Enlargement of NATO - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is the process of including new member states in NATO. NATO is a military alliance of states in Europe and North America whose organization constitutes a system of collective defence. The process of joining the alliance is governed by Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty

North Atlantic Treaty

The North Atlantic Treaty is the treaty that brought NATO into existence, signed in Washington, D.C. on 4 April 1949. The original twelve nations that signed it and thus became the founding members of NATO were:...

and by subsequent agreements. Countries wishing to join have to meet certain requirements and complete a multi-step process involving political dialogue and military integration. The accession process is overseen by the North Atlantic Council, NATO's governing body.

After its formation in 1949, NATO grew by including Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

and Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

in 1952 and West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

in 1955, and then later Spain in 1982. After the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

ended, and Germany reunited in 1990, there was a debate in NATO about continued expansion eastward. In 1999, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, Hungary, and the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

were added to the organization, amid much debate within the organisation and Russian opposition. Another expansion came with the accession of seven Northern Europe

Northern Europe

Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...

an and Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

an countries: Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

, Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

, Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

, Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

, Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

, and Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

. These nations were first invited to start talks of membership during the 2002 Prague summit

2002 Prague summit

The 2002 Prague summit was a NATO summit where the heads of state and government of the NATO member states met. Seven states were at this summit invited to begin accession talks with NATO: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. NATO's post-Cold War Open Door Policy...

, and joined NATO on 29 March 2004, shortly before the 2004 Istanbul summit

2004 Istanbul summit

The 2004 Istanbul summit was held in Istanbul, Turkey from June 28 to June 29, 2004. It was the 17th NATO summit in which NATO's Heads of State and Governments met to make formal decisions about security topics...

. Most recently, Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

and Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

joined on 1 April 2009, shortly before the 2009 Strasbourg–Kehl summit.

Future expansion is currently a topic of debate in many countries. Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

and Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

are stalled from accession by, respectively, Turkey and Greece, pending the resolution of disputes between them. Other countries which have a stated goal of eventually joining include Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

, Montenegro, Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

. The incorporation of former Warsaw Pact

Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...

countries has been a cause of increased tension between NATO countries and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...

reportedly agreed to allow German reunification within NATO after being promised that NATO would not expand "one inch to the east."

Historical enlargements

NATO has added new members six times since its founding in 1949, and NATO comprises twenty-eight members. Twelve countries were part of the founding of NATO: Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, Canada, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, France, Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

, Italy, Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

, the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, Norway, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1990, with the reunification of Germany

German reunification

German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...

, NATO grew to include the former country of East Germany. Between 1994 and 1997, wider forums for regional cooperation between NATO and its neighbors were set up, including the Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...

, the Mediterranean Dialogue

Mediterranean Dialogue

The Mediterranean Dialogue, first launched in 1994, is a forum of cooperation between NATO and seven countries of the Mediterranean. Its stated aim is "to create good relations and better mutual understanding and confidence throughout the region, promoting regional security and stability and...

initiative and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council

Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council

The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council , a NATO institution, is a multilateral forum created to improve relations between NATO and non-NATO countries in Europe and those parts of Asia on the European periphery. The member states meet to cooperate and consult on a range of political and security issues...

. In 1997, three former communist countries, Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

, and Poland

Poland

, were invited to join NATO. After this fourth enlargement in 1999, the Vilnius group

Vilnius group

The Vilnius group was a group of NATO aspirant countries, created in May 2000, aiming at practical cooperation, exchange of information and lobbying for their candidacy in the NATO capitals.As motto of the Vilnius group was chosen:...

of The Baltics and seven East European countries formed in May 2000 to cooperate and lobby for further NATO membership. Seven of these countries joined in the fifth enlargement in 2004. Albania

Albania

and Croatia

Croatia

joined in the sixth enlargement in 2009.

Date	Country	Enlargement
18 February 1952	Greece	First
18 February 1952	Turkey	First
9 May 1955	West Germany	Second
30 May 1982	Spain	Third
12 March 1999	Czech Republic	Fourth
	Hungary
	Poland
29 March 2004	Kingdom of Bulgaria	Fifth
	Estonia
	Latvia
	Lithuania
	Kingdom of Romania
	Slovakia
	Slovenia
1 April 2009	Albania	Sixth
1 April 2009	Independent State of Croatia	Sixth

Article 10

Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty

North Atlantic Treaty

describes how non-member states may join NATO:
This article poses two general limits to non-member states. European states are eligible for membership and these states need the approval of all the existing member states. The second criterion means that every member state can put some criteria forward that have to be attained. In practice, NATO formulates in most cases a common set of criteria, but for instance in the case of the Republic of Cyprus, Turkey blocks its membership as long as the Cyprus dispute

Cyprus dispute

The Cyprus dispute is the result of the ongoing conflict between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey, over the Turkish occupied northern part of Cyprus....

is not resolved. Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

opposes Turkey's admission to the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

for the same reason. Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

also blocks former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's accession to NATO, due to the disagreement over the use of the name Macedonia

Macedonia naming dispute

A diplomatic dispute over the use of the name Macedonia has been an ongoing issue in the bilateral relations between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia since the latter became independent from former Yugoslavia in 1991...

Individual Partnership Action Plan

NATO began the Individual Partnership Action Plans programme at the 2002 Prague Summit

2002 Prague summit

, as a mechanism to tailor relations with specific countries, which may include eventual membership. The programme is also used for countries not intending to join NATO, but that require the additional diplomatic resources. Plans have so far only been implemented with countries already members of the NATO-organized Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...

. As of 2009, Individual Partnership Action Plans are in implementation with eight countries: Georgia

Georgia (country)

, Azerbaijan, Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

, Moldova, Montenegro

Montenegro

Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

, and Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Serbia and Kazakhstan have stated they have no desire to join NATO. Georgia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the other hand, are actively working towards future NATO membership.

Intensified Dialogue

Intensified Dialogue is viewed as an additional stage before being invited to enter the alliance Membership Action Plan (MAP), that may compliment that country's Individual Partnership Action Plan. As of 2010, Georgia

Georgia (country)

and Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

are engaged in an Intensified Dialogue with NATO. In Spring 2008 both were promised to get Membership Action Plans at later stage, but in 2010 Ukraine has announced that it no longer has NATO membership as a goal. Montenegro

Montenegro

and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

participate in Intensified Dialogue, but have also received Membership Action Plans in addition. Serbia was also offered an Intensified Dialogue program on 3 April 2008, but made no response to accept the offer. (21 April 2005) (21 September 2006)

Countries not intending to join NATO
Country	Partnership for Peace Partnership for Peace Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...	Individual Partnership Action Plan Individual Partnership Action Plan Individual Partnership Action Plans, or IPAPs, are plans developed between NATO and different countries, that state the objectives and the communication framework for dialogue and cooperation between both parties...	Intensified Dialogue
Ukraine	1994-02 February 1994	2002–11 November 2002	2005-04 April 2005
Azerbaijan	1994-05 May 1994	2005-05 May 2005
Armenia	1994-10 October 1994	2005–12 December 2005
Kazakhstan	1994-05 May 1994	2006-01 January 2006
Moldova	1994-05 May 1994	2006-05 May 2006
Belarus	2006–12 11 January 1995
Serbia	2006–12 December 2006

Membership Action Plan

The Membership Action Plan (MAP) mechanism is the stage in the procedure for nations wishing to join where their formal applications are reviewed by the current members. The mechanism was approved in the 1999 Washington summit

1999 Washington summit

The 1999 Washington summit was the 15th NATO summit and was held in Washington, D.C. on April 24-25, 1999.Held at the height of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the summit commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of NATO and reiterated the "determination to put an end to the repressive actions" by...

. A country's participation in MAP entails the annual presentation of reports concerning its progress on five different measures:

Willingness to settle international, ethnic or external territorial disputes by peaceful means, commitment to the rule of law and human rights, and democratic control of armed forces
Ability to contribute to the organization's defence and missions
Devotion of sufficient resources to armed forces to be able to meet the commitments of membership
Security of sensitive information, and safeguards ensuring it
Compatibility of domestic legislation with NATO cooperation

NATO provides feedback as well as technical advice to each country and evaluates its progress on an individual basis. Once a country is agreed to meet the requirements, NATO can issue that country an invitation to begin accession talks. As of April 2010, three countries have a Membership Action Plan: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Montenegro

Georgia

Georgia (country)

has expressed interest in receiving a MAP. Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

had expressed interest in receiving a MAP before June 2010, when it announced a policy change of not seeking NATO membership. Former MAP participants were Albania

Accession of Albania to NATO

The accession of Albania to NATO took place in 2009. Albania's relationship with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization began in 1992 when it joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. In 1994, it entered NATO's Partnership for Peace, which began Albania's process of accession into the...

and Croatia

Accession of Croatia to NATO

The accession of Croatia to NATO took place in 2009. Croatia entered into NATO's Partnership for Peace in 2000, which began the process of accession into the alliance. The country received an invitation to join at the 2008 Bucharest Summit and became a full member on April 1,...

between May 2002 and April 2009, when they joined NATO. The final accession process, once invited, involves five steps leading up to the signing of the accession protocols and the acceptance and ratification of those protocols by the governments of the current NATO members.

Future enlargement

Montenegro, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina are currently the only countries with a Membership Action Plan. In 2008, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

blocked an invitation to its northern neighbor, pending resolution of the Macedonia naming dispute

Macedonia naming dispute

. Macedonia was part of the Vilnius group

Vilnius group

, and had formed the Adriatic Charter

Adriatic Charter

The Adriatic Charter is an association formed by Albania, Croatia, Republic of Macedonia and United States of America for the purpose of aiding their attempts to join NATO. The Charter was signed on 2 May 2003 in Tirana under the aegis of USA...

with Croatia and Albania in 2003 to better coordinate NATO accession.

NATO is unlikely to invite countries such as Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, Finland, Ireland, Sweden, and Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, where the policy of neutrality is protected by current legislation and the popularity of non-alignment holds sway.

Countries where current policy favors NATO membership
Country	Partnership for Peace Partnership for Peace Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...	Individual Partnership Action Plan Individual Partnership Action Plan Individual Partnership Action Plans, or IPAPs, are plans developed between NATO and different countries, that state the objectives and the communication framework for dialogue and cooperation between both parties...	Intensified Dialogue	Membership Action Plan
Republic of Macedonia	1995-11 November 1995			1999-04 April 1999
Kingdom of Montenegro	2006–12 December 2006	June 2008	2008-04 April 2008	2010-04December 2009
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2006–12 December 2006	2008-01 January 2008	2008-04 April 2008	2010-04 April 2010
Georgia (country)	1994-03 March 1994	2004–10 October 2004	2006–09 September 2006	2008–12

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The 1995 NATO bombing of Bosnia and Herzegovina targeted the Bosnian Serb Army and together with international pressure led to the resolution of the Bosnian War

Bosnian War

The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...

and the signing of the Dayton Agreement

Dayton Agreement

The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, Dayton Accords, Paris Protocol or Dayton-Paris Agreement, is the peace agreement reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio in November 1995, and formally signed in Paris on...

in 1995. Since then, NATO has led the Implementation Force

IFOR

The Implementation Force was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename Operation Joint Endeavour. Its task was to implement the military Annexes of The General Framework Agreement for...

and Stabilization Force

SFOR

The Stabilisation Force was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was tasked with upholding the Dayton Agreement. It replaced the previous force IFOR...

, and other peacekeeping efforts in the country.

Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the Partnership for Peace in 2006, and signed an agreement on security cooperation in March 2007. The nation began further cooperation with NATO within their Individual Partnership Action Plan in January 2008. Bosnia then started the process of Intensified Dialogue at the 2008 Bucharest summit

2008 Bucharest summit

The 2008 Bucharest Summit or the 20th NATO Summit was a NATO summit organized in Bucharest, Romania on 2 – 4 April 2008. Among other business, Croatia and Albania were invited to join the alliance. Republic of Macedonia was not invited due to its ongoing naming dispute with Greece...

. The country was invited to join the Adriatic Charter

Adriatic Charter

of NATO aspirants on 25 September 2008. Then in November 2008, a joint announcement from the Defence Minister and NATO Mission Office in Sarajevo suggested that Bosnia and Herzegovina could join NATO by 2011 if it continues with the reforms made in the defence-area so far.

In January 2009, Defence Minister Selmo Cikotić

Selmo Cikotic

Selmo Cikotić is a politician of Bosnia and Herzegovina, member of the Party of Democratic Action, and former Army officer...

again confirmed Bosnia's interest in seeking a Membership Action Plan (MAP) at the 2009 summit, with membership by 2012 at the latest. In February 2009 The Defence Minister of BiH Selmo Cikotic presented some poll numbers on NATO-membership: 70% of the country supports NATO-membership; However while 89% of the Federation Entity supports NATO-membership, only in 35% RS-entity did. While the country did not receive an MAP at the April 2009 summit in Strasbourg–Kehl, Stuart Jones

Stuart Jones

Stuart Jones may refer to:* Stuart Jones , English football goalkeeper* Stuart Jones , Welsh football defender* Stuart Jones , professional rugby league player for Castleford Tigers...

, an official of the US State Department, said on a September 2009 visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina that NATO was going to look at the possibilities for them to receive one in a December 2009 summit, repeating strong US support for the possibility. Then on 2 October 2009, Haris Silajdžić

Haris Silajdžic

Haris Silajdžić is a Bosnian politician and academic. In the 2006 elections, Silajdžić was elected as the Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina for four years in the rotating presidency.He was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia.- Political career:From 1990...

, the Bosniak Member of the Presidency, announced official application for Membership Action Plan. On 22 April 2010, NATO agreed to launch the Membership Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but with certain conditions attached. Turkey is thought to be the biggest supporter of Bosnian membership, and heavily influenced the decision.

Georgia

Georgia (country)

has moved quickly following the Rose Revolution

Rose Revolution

The "Revolution of Roses" was a change of power in Georgia in November 2003, which took place after having widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections...

in 2003 to seek closer ties with and eventual membership of NATO. Georgia's powerful northern neighbor, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, has opposed the closer ties, including those expressed at the 2008 Bucharest summit

2008 Bucharest summit

where NATO members promised that Georgia would eventually join the organization.

Complications in the relationship between NATO and Georgia includes presence of Russian forces in internationally-recognized Georgian territory as a result of multiple recent conflicts, like the 2008 South Ossetia war

2008 South Ossetia war

The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....

, over the territories of Abkhazia

Abkhazia

Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...

and South Ossetia

South Ossetia

South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....

, both of which are home to a large number of citizens of the Russian Federation. A nonbinding referendum in 2008

Georgian NATO membership referendum, 2008

A non-binding, advisory referendum on whether to join NATO was held in Georgia on January 5, 2008, together with an early presidential election and a legislative election date referendum...

resulted in 77% of voters supporting NATO accession.

On 21 November 2011, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Dmitry Medvedev

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...

while addressing soldiers in Vladikavkaz

Vladikavkaz

-Notable structures:In Vladikavkaz, there is a guyed TV mast, tall, built in 1961, which has six crossbars with gangways in two levels running from the mast structure to the guys.-Twin towns/sister cities:...

near the Georgian boarder stated that the 2008 invasion had prevented any further NATO enlargement into the former Soviet sphere.

Macedonia

NATO's invitation to Macedonia was blocked by Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

at the 2008 Bucharest summit

2008 Bucharest summit

. NATO nations agreed that the country would receive an invitation upon resolution of the Macedonia naming dispute

Macedonia naming dispute

. Greece believes that its neighbor's constitutional name implies territorial aspirations against its own region of Greek Macedonia. After the veto, Greece was sued in the International Court of Justice

International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...

, over the use of "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" as an acceptable option to enter NATO with. Greece may also block Macedonia's accession to the European Union over the naming dispute.

A poll following the summit showed that 82.5% of citizens surveyed opposed changing the constitutional name in order to join NATO. NATO membership in general is supported by 85.2% of the population. Elections were called following the 2008 summit, resulting in further support for the center-right pro-NATO party, VMRO–DPMNE. The elections were marred by violence that was criticized by NATO members.

The country joined the Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...

in 1995, and commenced its Membership Action Plan in 1999, at the same time as Albania

Albania

. Participating in the 1999 NATO intervention in Kosovo, it received aid from NATO in dealing with refugees fleeing from Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

. In August 2001, NATO intervened in the 2001 insurgency, during which a rebel Albanian group, the National Liberation Army, fought government forces. In Operation Essential Harvest

Operation Essential Harvest

Operation Essential Harvest was a deployment mission in the Republic of Macedonia by NATO, officially launched on August 22, 2001 and effectively started on August 27...

, NATO troops joined with the Macedonian military to disarm rebel forces following a cease-fire agreement.

Montenegro

In 2005 the Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro

Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro

The Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro was the legislative body of Serbia and Montenegro. The parliament was unicameral and was made up of 126 deputies, of which 91 were from Serbia and 35 were from Montenegro. The parliament was established in 2003, and was a replacement for the Federal...

had paved its way for NATO membership by adopting a Resolution in favor for it. Montenegro

Montenegro

declared independence from its State Union with Serbia

Serbia and Montenegro

Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...

on 3 June 2006. The new country subsequently joined the Partnership for Peace programme at the 2006 Riga summit

2006 Riga summit

The 2006 Riga summit or the 19th NATO Summit was a NATO summit held in Riga, Latvia from November 28 until November 29, 2006. The most important topics discussed were the War in Afghanistan and the future role and borders of the alliance. Further, the summit focused on the alliance's continued...

. In November 2007, Montenegro signed a transit agreement with NATO, allowing the alliance's troops to move across the country. Montenegro then signed an agreement with the United States, in which Montenegro will destroy its outdated weaponry as a precondition for NATO membership. In late 2007, Montenegro's Defence Minister Boro Vučinić

Boro Vucinic

Boro Vučinić is the Minister of Defense of Montenegro, since 10 November 2006.As Minister of Urban Planning Vučinić was involved the sale of an old ship repair yard on the Adriatic Sea, the first major privitaization deal of Montenegro since the independence from Serbia.He has a master's degree...

said that Montenegro would intensify its accession to the alliance after the 2008 Bucharest summit

2008 Bucharest summit

. Montenegro has received support for its membership from many NATO countries, including Romania and Turkey. Montenegro adopted an Individual Partnership Action Plan in June 2008 and was invited to join the Adriatic Charter of NATO aspirants on 25 September 2008. The country applied for a Membership Action Plan on 5 November 2008 with support of Prime Minister Milo Đukanović, which was granted in December 2009.

The present political climate in dubious on Montenegro's potential membership in the NATO. According to the October of 2009 poll, only 31.2% of Montenegro's populace is in support of NATO membership, while 44% is opposed. The memory of NATO's 1999 bombing campaign

1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...

of the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and its destruction and civilian casualties thereof form a crucial part of the dominating opposition to NATO membership in Montenegro, although NATO's role and approach to the Kosovo problem have further considerably aided the objection. Serbia's recent declared "military neutrality" has also influenced on Montenegro's non-decisive position on the question of NATO membership. Montenegro has begun to contribute to NATO military missions. The country plans to deploy 40 soldiers, a three member military medical team, and two officers under German command to Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

in 2010. Montenegrin peacekeepers will also be deployed to Liberia

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

and Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

Relations with other countries

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

has signed up for the Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...

programme and the Individual Partnership Action Plan

Individual Partnership Action Plan

Individual Partnership Action Plans, or IPAPs, are plans developed between NATO and different countries, that state the objectives and the communication framework for dialogue and cooperation between both parties...

, but Armenia is unlikely to join NATO as its policies often align it closer with Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, and it remains a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States

Commonwealth of Independent States

The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....

. Armenia pulled out of its participation in NATO military exercises in Georgia on 8 May 2009, because of NATO's Secretary-General's alleged support of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

, possibly making it even less likely that Armenia will eventually join NATO.

Azerbaijan

According to a NATO diplomatic source in August 2009 some key officials at NATO headquarters in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

were pushing hard for engaging Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

on the membership question. "Turkey, Romania, Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom and the Baltic states

Baltic states

The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...

" are among the members backing a fast track for Azerbaijan's NATO membership. While President Ilham Aliyev

Ilham Aliyev

Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev is the President of Azerbaijan since 2003. He also functions as the Chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party and the head of the National Olympic Committee...

has generally supported neutrality since his rise to power in 2003, Azerbaijan has however hosted NATO military exercises and high-profile meetings in 2009. The unresolved conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh

Nagorno-Karabakh

Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains...

would present a major roadblock to membership.

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

participates in nearly all sub-areas of the Partnership for Peace programme, and has provided peacekeeping forces to both the Afghanistan and Kosovo missions. However, a 2005 poll indicated that the public was strongly against NATO membership. The possibility of Finland's membership in NATO was one of the most important issues debated in relation to the Finnish presidential election of 2006

Finnish presidential election, 2006

The Finnish Presidential election of 2006 saw the re-election of Tarja Halonen as President of Finland for a second six-year term.The first round of voting in Finnish presidential elections always takes place on the third Sunday of January, in this case 15 January 2006...

.

The main opposition candidate in the 2006 election, Sauli Niinistö

Sauli Niinistö

Sauli Väinämö Niinistö is a Finnish politician from National Coalition Party. He is also President of the Football Association of Finland. A lawyer by training, he was Minister of Finance from 1996 to 2003 and the National Coalition Party candidate in the 2006 presidential election...

of the National Coalition Party

National Coalition Party (Finland)

The National Coalition Party is a liberal conservative political party in Finland founded in 1918.The National Coalition Party is one of the four largest parties in Finland, along with the Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party and the True Finns...

, supported Finland joining a "more European" NATO. Fellow right-winger Henrik Lax

Henrik Lax

Henrik Lax is a Finnish politician and formerMember of the European Parliament with the Swedish People's Party, Member of the Bureau of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and sat on the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.Lax was a substitute...

of the Swedish People's Party likewise supported the concept. On the other side, president Tarja Halonen

Tarja Halonen

Tarja Kaarina Halonen is the incumbent President of Finland. The first female to hold the office, Halonen had previously been a member of the parliament from 1979 to 2000 when she resigned after her election to the presidency...

of the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party of Finland

The Social Democratic Party of Finland is one of the three major political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. Jutta Urpilainen is the current SDP leader. The party has been in the Finnish government cabinet for long periods and has set many...

opposed changing the status quo, as did most other candidates in the election. Her victory and re-election to the post of president has currently put the issue of a NATO membership for Finland on hold for at least the duration of her term. Finland could however change its official position on NATO membership after the new EU treaty

Treaty of Lisbon

The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....

clarifies if there will be any new EU-level defence deal, but in the meantime Finnish Defence Forces

Finnish Defence Forces

The Finnish Defence Forces are responsible for the defence of Finland. It is a cadre army of 15,000, of which 8,900 are professional soldiers , extended with conscripts and reservists such that the standard readiness strength is 34,700 people in uniform...

are making technical preparations for membership, stating that it would increase Finland's security. Currently no political party explicitly supports NATO membership.

Other political figures of Finland who have weighed in with opinions include former President of Finland Martti Ahtisaari

Martti Ahtisaari

Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari is a Finnish politician, the tenth President of Finland , Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work....

who has argued that Finland should join all the organizations supported by other Western democracies in order "to shrug off once and for all the burden of Finlandization

Finlandization

Finlandization is a term used to describe the influence that one powerful country may have on the policies of a smaller neighboring country.It is generally considered to be pejorative, originating in West German political debate of the late 1960s and 1970s...

". Another ex-president, Mauno Koivisto

Mauno Koivisto

Mauno Henrik Koivisto is a Finnish politician who served as the ninth President of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as Prime Minister 1968–1970 and 1979–1982...

, opposes the idea, arguing that NATO membership would ruin Finland's relations with Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. Finland has received some very critical feedback from Russia for even considering the possibility of joining NATO, with a 2009 study suggesting this could have repercussions for Russia's relations with the EU and NATO as a whole. In October 2009, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen

Matti Vanhanen

Matti Taneli Vanhanen is a Finnish politician. He is a former Prime Minister of Finland and a former Chairman of the Centre Party. In the second half of 2006 he was President of the European Council. In his earlier career he was a journalist...

reiterated that Finland had no plans to join NATO, and stated that the main lesson of the 2008 South Ossetia war

2008 South Ossetia war

The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....

was the need for closer ties to Russia.

Moldova

Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...

does not currently have plans to join NATO. It has participated in the Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...

programme and the Individual Partnership Action Plan

Individual Partnership Action Plan

. The former communist government was seen as more allied with Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

and is already a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States. In April 2009 Moldova announced it would not participate in the June NATO military exercises. The new ruling party, the Alliance for European Integration

Alliance for European Integration

The Alliance for European Integration is the ruling coalition in Moldova since the July 2009 election.-Overall context :After April 2009 election and the civil unrest, the climate in Moldova became very polarised. The parliament failed to elect a new president. For this reason, the parliament was...

, elected in the Moldovan parliamentary election, July 2009

Moldovan parliamentary election, July 2009

- Pre-election developments :The country's parliament, elected months earlier, was dissolved by president Vladimir Voronin on 15 June 2009, after it had twice failed to elect a new president....

, has declined to so far take any action to either move it toward membership, or withdraw from the Commonwealth of Independent States

Commonwealth of Independent States

The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....

, and denies plans to do either. Moldova also has an ongoing internal conflict with the territory of Transnistria

Transnistria

Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...

Russia

In April 2009, the Polish Foreign Minister, Radosław Sikorski, suggested including Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

in NATO. In March 2010 this suggestion was repeated in an open letter co-written by German defense experts General Klaus Naumann

Klaus Naumann

Klaus Naumann is a retired German General, who served as Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr, the German armed fources, from 1991 to 1996, and as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1996 to 1999, succeeding the British general Richard Frederick Vincent, Baron Vincent of Coleshill...

, Frank Elbe, Ulrich Weisser, and former German Defense Minister Volker Rühe

Volker Rühe

Volker Rühe is a German politician affiliated with the CDU. He served as German Defence minister from April 1, 1992, succeeding Gerhard Stoltenberg during the first government of a reunified Germany in the fourth cabinet of Chancellor Kohl, to the end of the fifth Kohl Cabinet on October 27, 1998...

. In the letter it was suggested that Russia was needed in the wake of an emerging multi-polar world in order for NATO to counterbalance emerging Asian powers. However Russian leadership has made it clear that Russia does not plan to join the alliance, preferring to keep cooperation on a lower level. The Russian envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin

Dmitry Rogozin

Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin is a well-known Russian diplomat and popular politician, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia. In January, 2008, he became Russia's ambassador to NATO. He was a leader of the Rodina party until it merged with other similar Russian parties to form the...

, is quoted as saying "Great powers don't join coalitions, they create coalitions. Russia considers itself a great power," although he said that Russia did not rule out membership at some point in the future.

Serbia

originally determined in 2005, as Serbia and Montenegro

Serbia and Montenegro

, to join NATO. The subsequent independence of Montenegro

Montenegro

and Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

have strained relations between Serbia and NATO. Serbia

Serbia

however joined the Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...

programme during the 2006 Riga Summit

2006 Riga summit

. While this programme is sometimes the first step towards full NATO membership, it is uncertain whether Serbia perceives it as signaling an intent to join the alliance. NATO historically fought Bosnian-Serbian forces during the Bosnia war and Serbia

Serbia

during the 1999 Kosovo conflict.

Following NATO's open support to Kosovo's declaration of independence

2008 Kosovo declaration of independence

The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was adopted on 17 February 2008 by individual members of the Assembly of Kosovo acting in personal capacity and not binding to the Assembly itself...

in January 2008, support for NATO integration greatly dropped. An earlier poll in September 2007 had showed that 28% of Serbian citizens supported NATO membership, with 58% supporting the Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...

. The only political parties which currently support NATO integration are the minor opposition Liberal Democratic Party and Serbian Renewal Movement

Serbian Renewal Movement

The Serbian Renewal Movement is a political party in Serbia.It was founded in 1990.In 1997 a dissident group abandoned the party and formed New Serbia....

. The Democratic Party

Democratic Party (Serbia)

The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...

abandoned its pro-NATO attitude, claiming the Partnership for Peace is enough.

Although current Serbian priorities do not include NATO membership, the Alliance has offered Serbia

Serbia

an invitation to enter the intensified dialogue programme whenever the country is ready. On 1 October 2008, Serbian Defence Minister Dragan Šutanovac

Dragan Šutanovac

Dragan Šutanovac is the current Minister of Defence in the Government of Serbia.- Background :...

signed the Information Exchange Agreement with the NATO, one of the prerequisites for fuller membership in the Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace

Partnership for Peace is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 22 States are members...

programme.

Sweden

In 1949 Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

chose not to join NATO and declared a security policy aiming for non-alignment in peace and neutrality in war. A modified version now qualifies non-alignment in peace for possible neutrality in war. As such, the Swedish government decided not to participate in the membership of NATO because they wanted to remain neutral in a potential war. This position was maintained without much discussion during the Cold War

Cold War

. Since the 1990s however there has been an active debate in Sweden on the question of NATO membership in the post–Cold War world. These ideological divides were visible again in November 2006 when Sweden could either buy two new transport planes or join NATO's plane pool, and in December 2006, when Sweden was invited to join the NATO Response Force

NATO Response Force

The NATO Response Force is a "coherent, high-readiness, joint, multinational force package" of up to 25,000 troops that is "technologically advanced, flexible, deployable, interoperable and sustainable"...

. While the governing parties in Sweden have opposed membership, they have participated in NATO-led missions in Bosnia (IFOR

IFOR

and SFOR

SFOR

The Stabilisation Force was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was tasked with upholding the Dayton Agreement. It replaced the previous force IFOR...

), Kosovo (KFOR) and Afghanistan (ISAF

International Security Assistance Force

The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...

).

The Swedish Centre Party

Centre Party (Sweden)

The Centre Party is a centrist political party in Sweden. The party maintains close ties to rural Sweden and describes itself as "a green social liberal party". The ideology is sometimes called agrarian, but in a European context, the Centre Party can perhaps best be characterized as social...

and Social Democratic party

Swedish Social Democratic Party

The Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party, , contesting elections as 'the Workers' Party – the Social Democrats' , or sometimes referred to just as 'the Social Democrats' and most commonly as Sossarna ; is the oldest and largest political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1889...

have remained in favor of non-alignment. This preference is shared by the Green party, Left party and the Christian Democrats. The right wing Moderate Party

Moderate Party

The Moderate Party is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League by a group of conservatives in the Swedish parliament...

as well as the Liberal party

Liberal People's Party (Sweden)

The Liberal People's Party is a political party in Sweden. The party advocates social liberalism and is part of the governing centre-right coalition The Alliance, which achieved a majority in the general election of 17 September 2006...

are the only parties with representation in the parliament today that are in favor of NATO membership. Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt

Fredrik Reinfeldt

John Fredrik Reinfeldt is the Prime Minister of Sweden, leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party and former President of the European Council...

stated on 18 September 2007 that Swedish membership in NATO would require a "very wide" majority in Parliament, including the social democrats

Swedish Social Democratic Party

, and coordination with Finland. A 2005 poll indicated that 46% of Swedes were opposed to NATO membership, with 22% supporting it. Another poll in May 2008 showed that 37% of the Swedes are in favor of membership, while 41% are against. Support for NATO membership though, has risen dramatically since March 2008, when only 29% were in favor.

Ukraine

At the beginning of 2008, the Ukrainian President

President of Ukraine

Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...

, Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Ukraine

The Prime Minister of Ukraine is Ukraine's head of government presiding over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of the Ukrainian government....

and head of parliament sent an official letter to apply for the Membership Action Plan. The idea of Ukrainian

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

membership in NATO has gained support from a number of NATO leaders. At the 2008 Bucharest summit

2008 Bucharest summit

, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer

Jakob Gijsbert "Jaap" de Hoop Scheffer is a retired Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal . He served as the 11th Secretary General of NATO from January 5, 2004 until August 1, 2009....

declared in a press conference that Georgia and Ukraine will join NATO. Within the NATO-Ukraine working commission, NATO officials reassured Ukraine officials that they are willing to invite their country to join the Alliance. The Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Alexander Grushko, announced that NATO membership for Ukraine was not in Russia's best interests and wouldn't help the relations of the two countries.

According to numerous independent polls conducted since 2002, Ukrainian public opinion on NATO membership is split, with the majority of those polled against joining the military alliance and many identifying it as a threat. According to the FOM-Ukraine

FOM-Ukraine

The FOM-Ukraine is political sociology company in Ukraine. It is joint venture of FOM company favoring Viktor Yanukovych were the only allowed to be publicized on TV during Ukrainian presidential election in 2004. All others polling was censored....

pollster, as of April 2009, 57% of Ukrainians polled were against joining the alliance, while 21% were in favor. A Gallup poll conducted in October 2008 showed that 45% associated NATO as a threat to their country, while only 15% associated it with protection.

Protests, such as the Crimean anti-NATO protests of 2006

Crimean anti-NATO protests of 2006

The Crimean anti-NATO protests of 2006 were series of political protests in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea against United States military maneuvers during NATO's Sea Breeze 2006 military exercise and in order to prevent Ukraine's possible bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty...

, have taken place by opposition blocs against the idea, and petitions signed urging the end of relations with NATO. Influential Ukrainian politicians

Politics of Ukraine

Politics of Ukraine take place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Cabinet. Legislative power is vested in the parliament...

like Yuriy Yekhanurov

Yuriy Yekhanurov

Yuriy Ivanovych Yekhanurov is a Ukrainian politician who was Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2005 to 2006 and Minister of Defense in from 2007 to 2009...

and Yulia Tymoshenko

Yulia Tymoshenko

Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko , née Grigyan , born 27 November 1960, is a Ukrainian politician. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 24 January to 8 September 2005, and again from 18 December 2007 to 4 March 2010. She placed third in Forbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful...

have stated Ukraine will not join NATO as long as the public continues opposing the move. This was also confirmed by a 6 March 2008 agreement between the parliamentary coalition and opposition parties which says that any international agreements regarding Ukraine’s entry to NATO must be decided by referendum. Recently the Ukrainian government started an information campaign, aimed at informing the Ukrainian people about the consequences of membership.

The 2010 election

Ukrainian presidential election, 2010

The Ukrainian presidential election of 2010 is Ukraine's fifth presidential election since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The first round was held on January 17, 2010...

returned Viktor Yanukovych

Viktor Yanukovych

Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych is a Ukrainian politician who has been the President of Ukraine since February 2010.Yanukovych served as the Governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 to 2002...

as Ukrainian President and marked a turnaround in Ukraine's relations with NATO. In February 2010, he stated that Ukraine's relations with NATO were currently "well-defined", and that there was "no question of Ukraine joining NATO". He said the issue of Ukrainian membership of NATO might "emerge at some point, but we will not see it in the immediate future." While visiting Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

in March 2010, he further stated that there would be no change to Ukraine's status as a member of the alliance's outreach program. He later reiterated during a trip to Moscow that Ukraine would remain a "European, non-aligned state." Then, on 3 June 2010 the Ukrainian parliament

Verkhovna Rada

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...

voted to exclude the goal of "integration into Euro-Atlantic security and NATO membership" from the country's national security strategy in a bill drafted by Yanukovych himself. The bill forbids Ukraine's membership of any military bloc, but allows for co-operation with alliances such as NATO. "European integration

Ukraine and the European Union

Relations between Ukraine and the European Union are currently shaped via the European Neighbourhood Policy , a foreign policy instrument of the EU designed for the countries it borders....

" is still part of Ukraine's national security strategy.

External links

Official NATO enlargement site

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