THE 16 NATO heads of state and government have reached agreement on one of the most bitterly debated issues in the 48-year history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
The alliance agreed at a summit in Madrid yesterday to invite Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to apply for membership, and to leave the door open for integration of countries such as Romania and Slovenia, which are close to meeting the requirements, for the second wave within a couple of years.
This is the first time the alliance has convened for a summit without prior agreement on the final outcome of a major issue, and there were considerable differences between the member-states as to which and how many countries should be included.
The US and Britain argued strongly to limit new membership to Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, while France, Italy and Greece wanted to include Romania, Slovenia and Bulgaria in the new, enlarged alliance.
A British diplomat said his country was strongly convinced it would be a great error to allow too many entries in a single wave. "Even with the entry of three new countries, we will be increasing our land area by 21 per cent and our borders by over 50 per cent. We will already be facing a strong challenge," he said.
The British delegation admitted it was not in favour of naming the actual countries for the second wave, but preferred to leave this for a later date.
"We want to make it clear that they will not have been confined to a back-burner," he said.
Spain, the host country, favoured new entries. But as one senior Spanish diplomat said: "We did not feel strongly enough to break the consensus on the issue, and we are happy with three entries in the first wave."
The Spanish Foreign Minister Mr Abel Matutes, said it was in his country's interest that an agreement should be reached in Madrid. After many hours of debate, most other countries came to the same conclusion.
"We have all agreed to invite the three new members in the first wave and to postpone a decision on further enlargement," Mr Matutes said last night.
He said a consensus had been reached to "leave the door" open on further entries, and suggested that 1999, when NATO will celebrate its 50th anniversary, would be a suitable date for the second wave.
President Chirac of France raised some of the most controversial issues at the summit, and was particularly outspoken in his criticism of President Clinton and the US. Mr Chirac, along with several other leaders, accused the US of arriving in Madrid with their decisions taken and of refusing to negotiate or make concessions.
"NATO will not survive unless the balance of power between the US and Europe is not clarified in Europe's favour a French spokeswoman warned.