NATO: SEVEN EU CANDIDATES WIN INVITATION TO NATO MEMBERSHIP.

Leaders of the 19 NATO nations meeting in Prague issued their invitation to start accession talks with Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. This is NATO's fifth enlargement: from 12 original countries, it has enlarged successively to 14, 15, 16 and then, in 1999, to 19. "This round of enlargement will maintain and increase NATO's strength, cohesion and vitality", said NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson. "All aspirants have been faced with tough and difficult decisions. It is a reflection of their political determination to join NATO that they have met this challenge."

The conditions for membership include the ability of candidate countries to contribute militarily to collective defence and to peace-keeping operations. But there are other criteria too: candidate countries also have to settle ethnic disputes or external territorial disputes by peaceful means. And they have to demonstrate a commitment to the rule of law and human rights; establishing democratic control of armed forces; and promoting stability and wellbeing through economic liberty, social justice and environmental responsibility. But ultimately, NATO concluded that its existing members would decide by consensus whether to invite additional countries to join, basing their decision on their judgement at the time as to whether the membership of a specific country would contribute to security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area.

--NATO's 19 current members are: Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Iceland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United States and the UK.

This new enlargement is not the first to take on countries from the former Soviet bloc...