Czech, Hungary, Poland give new shape to NATO

By Marc Jacob

JAKARTA (JP): When signing the Washington Treaty on April 4, 1949, the U.S., Canada and 10 European states were united by the belief that only by promoting their common values -- democracy, human rights and free market -- would they manage to prevent the outbreak of another war and ensure lasting peace and prosperity to nations of Europe and America.

The signatories of the Washington Treaty agreed not only to come to each other's defense in cases of aggression, but also to "contribute toward the further development of peaceful and friendly international relations by strengthening their free institutions and by promoting conditions of stability and well- being".

For long years of the Cold War, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland could not partake in the endeavor to spread the Euro- Atlantic values, for they had been placed on the Eastern side of the Iron Curtain, where human rights or free institutions existed but on paper. The alliance, on the other hand, during those years not only protected its members from external threats but also created a framework for continued dialog and cooperation, thus contributing to the emergence of a community of security interests and a uniform Euro-Atlantic defense culture.

After 1989 the Czechs, the Hungarians and the Poles regained their sovereignty, the right to choose the laws by which they wanted to live, the institutions which were to serve them and the military alliances they wanted to join. Then, a complex process of systematic transformation began, which was to build lasting foundations for democratic states based on respect for human and civil rights and following the principles of free market economy. These were also the values which in 1949 lay at the roots of the Washington Treaty.

Looking from the perspective of the past 10 years, one can say that the three countries have completed the process of basic internal reforms. Their membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is to consolidate the achievements of those reforms, by permanently anchoring them in the transatlantic community of nations sharing and promoting the same values.

The accession to NATO on March 12 provided Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, for the first time in their modern history, with credible security guarantees. It gave them confidence that in case of aggression they may count on the assistance of their allies. On the other hand, by the NATO collective defense system, by promoting the Euro-Atlantic values, and by actively participating in outreach activities, they contribute to the stability and security of their allies and all other nations of Europe.

The three central European nations see NATO enlargement as a process of historic significance, which will benefit all nations living in the Euro-Atlantic area. The enlargement is of crucial significance of the final overcoming of the vestiges of the Cold War and for instituting a system of European security based on dialog and cooperation. NATO's opening to new members enlarges the sphere of security and stabilizes the situation in Central and eastern Europe. In this sense, today's enlargement of NATO plays the same role in the integration of new democracies with western Europe that the creation of the alliance plays in cementing the unity of its current members.

Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary, as the most eastward allies, will be especially responsible for stability in central and eastern Europe. To a large degree they will share the responsibility for the nonconfrontational character of the further process of enlargement. For this reason, as NATO members, they intend to participate in shaping of all endeavors serving the intensification of NATO's relations with the non-allied nations of Europe.

Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic are keen to remain active participants of the Partnership for Peace program, contributing to its role in the intensification of political and military cooperation throughout Europe and elimination of threats to peace. They will also contribute to the strengthening of the alliance partnership with Russia and Ukraine, which helps to bring those countries into the structure of the new architecture of the European security, out of their special importance for the security of the whole continent.

The writer is a Polish political scientist based in Jakarta.