International politics: NATO expansion struggle

A row broke out at the largest-ever NATO summit, held in the Romanian capital Bucharest last week, as members failed to agree on the potential inclusion of Georgia and Ukraine into the alliance. Representatives from the organization's 26 member states came together to discuss issues such as NATO's mission in Afghanistan as well as the potential admission of new countries, including Macedonia, Croatia, Albania, Georgia and Ukraine. Discussion on the last two countries caused an uproar and highlighted conflicting interests among NATO members.

The Polish delegation to the summit, which included President Lech Kaczyński, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and Defence Minister Bogdan Klich, took a decisively pro-admission stance in the cases of Ukraine and Georgia. Before the summit started, the president sent a letter to all NATO member countries' leaders expressing his support for the organization's further expansion. The President argued that all previous NATO expansions had brought the alliance tangible benefits, spreading political stability and predictability.

The argument was met with stiff opposition from Germany and France, the main opponents of Ukraine and Georgia's admission, which maintained that it was too early to offer the two countries Membership Action Plans (MAP) and that such a move would disrupt the balance of power in Europe. In the end, however, a compromise was found - the summits' participants made a declaration that Ukraine and Georgia would be eventually admitted, although membership status could not yet be granted to them. NATO's diplomatic leaders are expected to assess the countries' readiness for accession in December.

"Poland achieved a 70-odd- percent success. I hope that Ukraine and Georgia will get MAPs as early as this year," President Kaczyński told journalists after the talks.

The members at the summit also decided to unite in their support of the American missile-shield project, including it as part of NATO's defence system.

"NATO's declaration on the missile shield is of utmost importance. In spite of the opposition of politicians from various countries, including Germany, the project has been unanimously deemed consistent with the alliance's interests," Paweł Zalewski, member of Sejm's Foreign Affairs Committee told daily Rzeczpospolita.

The declaration coincided with the Czech Republic and US' announcement of the successful end of their negotiations on the missile shield's radar component.