§ 32. Mr. Derek TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress towards NATO enlargement. [70523]
§ Mr. George RobertsonAll 16 members of NATO have now ratified the Protocols of Accession to NATO in respect of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. The NATO Secretary-General wrote to the Foreign Ministers of the three countries on 29 January inviting them formally to accede to the North Atlantic Treaty. They will do so by depositing the instruments of accession with the United States Government. No date has yet been decided for their formal accession, but we expect it to be during March. The Government warmly welcome this progress and look forward to working with our new Allies.