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Bush to Host Foreign Ministers of NATO Candidates

(Rose Garden ceremony for ministers from Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia) (350)
President Bush will preside at a White House ceremony May 8 for the
foreign ministers of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania,
Slovakia and Slovenia -- the seven nations invited to join NATO at the
November 2002 summit in Prague.
The protocols of accession were opened for signature in Brussels on
March 26, 2003, and signed that day on behalf of the United States and
the other parties to the North Atlantic Treaty. They must be approved
by the legislatures of each member country.
President Bush has urged the U.S. Senate to approve ratification of
the protocols. On April 30, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
voted unanimously to approve the new NATO members; the full Senate
will now consider the matter.
Following is the White House statement on the May 8 event:
(begin text)
The White House 
Office of the Press Secretary (Santa Clara, California)
May 2, 2003
Statement by the Deputy Press Secretary
ROSE GARDEN EVENT WITH THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF BULGARIA, ESTONIA,
LATVIA, LITHUANIA, ROMANIA, SLOVAKIA, AND SLOVENIA
On May 8, President Bush will welcome the Foreign Ministers of the
seven nations invited to join NATO at the November 2002 NATO Summit in
Prague. He will be joined by leaders of the United States Senate,
which is considering a resolution to provide its advice and consent to
the ratification of the Protocols which will formally admit these
nations as members of NATO.
The new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe treasure the freedom
they have regained following the end of the Cold War. They have
already acted as Allies in providing strong support to the United
States in the war on terrorism, and bringing peace and democracy to
Afghanistan and Iraq. Their membership in NATO will strengthen the
Alliance, which remains the central pillar of transatlantic relations.
The President has called upon the United States Senate to join him in
advancing the cause of freedom by providing its prompt advice and
consent to the ratification of these Protocols of Accession.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)