JBANC PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release July 27, 2000 Contact: Karl Altau CEEC Meets with Republican Strategists NATO Enlargement Supported; FMF Funding Appears Secure (JBANC/Washington, DC) - National representatives of the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) met in Washington, DC, Wednesday with foreign policy experts close to Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush to discuss concerns related to the region, including approaches for further enlarging NATO. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), chairman of the Foreign Operations subcommittee, hosted the meeting at the National Republican Senatorial Committee Headquarters. Besides Senator McConnell, participants from the Republican side included Paul Wolfowitz of the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, Robert Zoellick, Resident Fellow at the German Marshall Fund and Stephen Hadley, a Senior Fellow at the Forum for International Policy. In its presentation, the CEEC stressed the necessity of guaranteeing the security, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries of Central-Eastern Europe, which is also in the national security interests of the United States. The Republican campaign was encouraged to adopt the following language in its platform, “the new democracies of Europe who share our values and are capable of sharing the burdens of defending these values are [to be] invited to join NATO at the next summit”. When asked about a credible schedule for NATO enlargement, a Bush associate pointed out that the performance of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic is critical for NATO’s next move. Russia too, must remember that to be a responsible regional partner, it must not intimidate its neighbors politically, economically or militarily. The U.S. will not tolerate this and must be assertive and honest with Russian President Putin. “We have leverage with Russia,” stated a source close to Bush, “but we don’t use it.” Technical assistance programs such as the Partnership for Peace (PfP), which aid the aspirant countries should, according to Senator McConnell, be converted from a “treadmill” to a clear path to NATO membership. The importance of retaining Foreign Military Financing (FMF) funding for these countries was also pointed out. This comes in light of the current Waters amendment to the Foreign Operations bill (H.R. 4811), which would eliminate vital FMF funds, including $20 million for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and apply them to help cover debt relief in Third World countries. The Senate will not support cuts in FMF funding and the measure, participants were assured, will be removed from the bill. However, the fate of the legislation will not be finally known until after House and Senate conferees meet. Other issues discussed at the meeting included democracy building, the plight of Voice of America and Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty broadcasts, economic relations and foreign assistance. The CEEC represents nineteen national organizations, including the Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc. (JBANC) and its three parent organizations, the Estonian American National Council, Inc., the American Latvian Association, Inc., and the Lithuanian American Council, Inc. The CEEC speaks on behalf of over twenty million Americans with heritage from that part of the world. |
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