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[Page: S5627]  GPO's PDF
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   Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, today the Senate Republican Leader and I are pleased to reestablish the bipartisan Senate NATO Observer Group, or SNOG. We originally established the SNOG in April 1997 to advise the full Senate on the historic first round of enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO. It served as an important line of communication between the Senate and NATO and the Senate and candidate countries in the months prior to the July 1997 NATO summit in Madrid at which Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary were admitted to the alliance. The SNOG and the information it generated was central to the Senate's ratification of the protocols of accession in April 1998.

   The Senate debate in 1998 foreshadowed further enlargement of NATO, and in June 2001, the North Atlantic Council determined that NATO would admit at least one candidate country at the November 2002 summit in Prague. In reestablishing the SNOG, we are asking this bipartisan group of our colleagues to closely monitor the enlargement process and to keep the rest of the Senate fully informed as we move to another historic decision at Prague. The SNOG will work with the Administration, our NATO allies, and the NATO candidate countries, of which there are nine. The fact that nine countries have been designated as candidates only highlights the importance of the SNOG in assessing each country's progress in meeting the qualifications for accession and reporting to the Senate on that progress.

   The Senate takes its constitutional role of advise and consent on treaties very seriously. The protocols of accession signed by new NATO members are considered amendments to the North Atlantic Treaty and will require the advice and consent of the Senate. The inclusion of new member countries into NATO involves a commitment, under Article V of the Treaty, to defend those countries in case of attack--a solemn commitment and one we will not undertake lightly. It is in the security interests of the United States to see NATO expanded, to create a Europe that is whole and free. But it is also the solemn responsibility of the U.S. Senate to look carefully at any new commitments to which American troops might be subject.

   The SNOG will be chaired by the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator JOSEPH BIDEN of Delaware, and co-chaired by Senator Helms. The Senate Majority Leader and Republican Leader will be members, ex officio. The other Democratic Senators on the SNOG will be Senators ROBERT BYRD of West Virginia, JEAN CARNAHAN of Missouri, MAX CLELAND of Georgia, BYRON DORGAN of North Dakota, RICHARD DURBIN of Illinois, TOM HARKIN of Iowa, DANIEL INOUYE of Hawaii, TIM JOHNSON of South Dakota, MARY LANDRIEU of Louisiana, PATRICK LEAHY of Vermont, CARL LEVIN of Michigan, JOSEPH LIEBERMAN of Connecticut, BARBARA MIKULSKI of Maryland, PAUL SARBANES of Maryland, ROBERT TORRICELLI of New Jersey, and PAUL WELLSTONE of Minnesota.

   Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senator Daschle in reestablishing the Senate NATO Observer Group. When we first established the SNOG in April 1997, I emphasized that the Senate be in on the ground floor of the NATO enlargement process. Because it was bipartisan, the SNOG cut across party lines as well as committee jurisdictions, and ensured that the Senate would be heard both during the NATO enlargement process and after the decisions were taken in Madrid. Today, by reestablishing the SNOG, we are ensuring that the Senate will be fully informed prior to the next round

[Page: S5628]  GPO's PDF

   On June 15, 2001, President Bush gave an historic speech in Warsaw, Poland at which he said that ``all of Europe's new democracies, from the Baltic to the Black Sea and all that lie between, should have the same chance for security and freedom, and the same chance to join the institutions of Europe, as Europe's old democracies.'' His audience, the Poles, understood what he was talking about. Less than two decades ago, they suffered under the oppressive weight of the Soviet Union. Today, they enjoy freedom, protected by their membership in NATO. As the Senate considers the expansion of NATO to include other Eastern European countries, we should remember the words of the President. We must also act deliberately, examining the qualifications of each candidate country and the commitments that their accession to NATO entails. It is for that purpose that we are reestablishing the SNOG.

   The other Republican Senators on the SNOG will be WAYNE ALLARD of Colorado, SAM BROWNBACK of Kansas, BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL of Colorado, THAD COCHRAN of Mississippi, MIKE DEWINE of Ohio, MIKE ENZI of Wyoming, CHUCK HAGEL of Nebraska, MITCH MCCONNELL of Kentucky, DON NICKLES of Oklahoma, PAT ROBERTS of Kansas, RICK SANTORUM of Pennsylvania, JEFF SESSIONS of Alabama, GORDON SMITH of Oregon, TED STEVENS of Alaska, GEORGE VOINOVICH of Ohio, and JOHN WARNER of Virginia.

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