Chronology of major events
April 6, 1990—A NATO summit in London adopted the London Declaration in which Warsaw Pact member states were invited to establish partnership relations and develop military contacts.
March 21, 1991—Minister of Foreign Affairs Krzysztof Skubiszewski pays the first ever visit of Poland's authorities to NATOHeadquarters.
March 31, 1991—The military structures of the Warsaw Pact were dissolved, and in July 1991 the organization was formally disbanded.
Oct. 6, 1991—In Cracow, the presidents of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland expressed the desire of their states to participate in NATO activities.
Dec. 20, 1991—The North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC) held its inaugural session in Brussels with the participation of 16 NATO members and nine states of Central Europe. The council became a forum for collaboration between NATO and the states of Central and Eastern Europe.
March 10, 1992—An extraordinary meeting of the foreign affairs ministers and representatives of the member states of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council announced the first Plan of Work for Dialog, Partnership and Cooperation (NACC Work Plan).
March 11-12, 1992—NATO Secretary-General Manfred Wörner, visiting Poland, declared “the door to NATO is open."
April 10, 1992—The Military Committee of NATO held its first meeting with the participation of Central and Eastern European defense ministers and chiefs of staff.
Jan. 10, 1994—A NATO summit in Brussels invited the states of Central and Eastern Europe, including states established after the breakup of the USSR, to enter into cooperation with the alliance within the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program.
Jan. 12, 1994—The presidents of the Visegrad Group countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland), meeting U.S. President Bill Clinton in Prague, accepted the Partnership for Peace program.
Feb. 2, 1994—Poland signs the accord on joining the Partnership for Peace program.
April 25, 1994—Poland submitted its Partnership for Peace Presentation Document at NATO Headquarters.
May 12, 1994—The defense ministers of Denmark, Germany and Poland decided in Warsaw to conduct joint military exercises on the Baltic in the autumn within “the framework of PfP."
July 5, 1994—Poland and NATO adopted the “Individual Partnership Program" (IPP). Poland became the first PfP state to agree to its Individual Partnership Program with the Alliance.
Sept. 12-16, 1994—First joint military exercises (code-named “Cooperative Bridge") in the framework of Partnership for Peace were held at Biedrusko near Poznaƒ with participation of units from 13 NATO members and partner countries.
Oct. 8, 1994—The U.S. Congress adopted the NATO Participation Act authorizing the U.S. president to extend the benefits of allied military cooperation with NATO to Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
Dec. 1, 1994—The North Atlantic Council, meeting at the foreign ministerial level, confirmed that in accordance with Article 10 of the Washington Treaty, the alliance remained open to future membership of other European states. U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher announced that the United States wished to initiate talks with countries interested in joining the alliance as early as 1995.
Feb. 16, 1995—The U.S. House of Representatives adopted the National Security Revitalization Act envisaging enlargement of NATO to include the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.
May 26-29, 1995—The North Atlantic Assembly convened in Budapest (for the first time in a non-NATO country). It endorsed expansion of the alliance by admitting Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia by the end of 1988—with a simultaneous strengthening of relations with Russia.
Aug. 8-26, 1995—PfP military exercises code-named “Cooperative Nugget" were held in Fort Polk, Louisiana, with the participation of troops from 14 NATO states and partner countries including Poland, the first such exercises on American soil.
Sept. 9-20, 1995—Joint Polish-German military exercises code-named “Combined Endeavor" were held in Germany within the framework of PfP.
Dec. 5, 1995—The Polish government decided to send a military contingent to Bosnia as part of IFOR operations.
Jan. 17, 1996—President Aleksander KwaŒniewski visited NATO Headquarters in Brussels. During a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana, he stressed the continuity of Poland's foreign policy goals, including membership in NATO.
Feb. 8, 1996—In a joint letter to the secretary-general of NATO, the Polish ministers of defense and foreign affairs formally accepted the alliance's invitation of Jan. 29, 1996, to begin Individual Dialog with NATO.
June 19-22, 1996—An Annual (13th) NATO Workshop took place in Warsaw, the first such event to be held in Poland.
July 26, 1996—The U.S. Senate adopted a bill granting military aid to Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovenia as the countries most qualified to join NATO.
Oct. 22, 1996—President Bill Clinton, in a speech in Detroit, for the first time disclosed a specific date for the expansion of NATO. He stated that the first new members from among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe should be admitted into the Atlantic Alliance no later than 1999 (50th anniversary of the alliance).
Dec. 17, 1996—The Polish Council of Ministers adopted resolution No.146/96 formally endorsing participation of a Polish contingent of “up to 500 men" in SFOR in Bosnia.
Feb. 18, 1997—U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told a meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Brussels that NATO membership negotiations of the first group of Central and East European states—to be determined by the NATO summit in Madrid—should be completed by December 1997. This would make it possible to sign protocols of accession at the December ministerial meeting of the alliance and to give the parliaments of NATO countries enough time to ratify them by 1999.
Feb. 24, 1997—The U.S. Department of State published a report prepared for Congress on NATO expansion, including cost estimates. Direct costs were estimated at $9 billion-$12 billion (1997-2009), total costs (including modernization)—at $27 billion-$35 billion, during the same period. Direct costs to new members—$3 billion-$4.5 billion.
March 14, 1997—The North Atlantic Council published a statement in which NATO declared that in the present and foreseeable conditions in Europe, the alliance did not see a need for permanent additional stationing of significant forces of the alliance on the territories of the present and future members.
July 8, 1997—A NATO summit of heads of state and government officials in Madrid decided to invite Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary to begin talks on membership in the alliance.
Aug. 1, 1997—The Sejm adopted a resolution authorizing the government to enter into accession talks and obligating it to assure NATO of readiness to assume commitments and to cover the essential costs of membership.
Sept. 16, 1997—Poland and NATO began accession talks.
Nov. 10, 1997—The foreign minister of Poland sent a letter to NATO Secretary-General, in which the Polish side officially accepted the size of its contribution (2.48 percent) to the budgets of the alliance: civilian, military and the NATO Security Investment Program (NSIP).
Dec. 16, 1997—NATO's foreign ministers signed Accession Protocols for Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary in Brussels. The protocols were to be subject to ratification in the 16 countries of the alliance in 1998.
Dec. 28, 1997—Representatives of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary participated for the first time (with observer status) in the weekly meeting of the North Atlantic Council, at the ambassadorial level.
Jan. 22-23, 1998—NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana visited Poland on a tour of states invited to join the alliance.
Feb. 2, 1998—Canada became the first member of the alliance to ratify the Accession Protocols, and on Feb. 4 conveyed the ratification documents to the U.S. State Department.
Feb. 3, 1998—The parliament of Denmark ratified the Accession Protocols, which on Feb. 17 were conveyed to the U.S. State Department.
March 3, 1998—The parliament of Norway accepted the Accession Protocols of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. On March 17, Norway conveyed the instruments of ratification to the government of the United States.
March 11, 1998—The prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary decided during a meeting in London to jointly convey documents of accession to the government of the United States.
March 26, 1998—Germany's Bundestag, and—on March 27—the Bundesrat accepted ratification documents of the Accession Protocols, which on April 24 were submitted to the U.S. State Department.
April 30, 1998—The U.S. Senate approved ratification documents of the Protocols of Accession, which on Aug. 20 were conveyed to the State Department.
May 13, 1998—Italy's Senate, and—on June 16—the Chamber of Deputies of Parliament adopted ratification documents of the Accession Protocols, which on Sept. 23 were submitted to the U.S. State Department.
May 14, 1998—The Greek parliament concluded ratification of the Accession Protocols. On July 31, the documents of ratification were submitted to the U.S. State Department.
May 20, 1998—The French Senate adopted the Accession Protocols; on June 10 they were adopted by the National Assembly, and on July 15 the documents of ratification were conveyed to the U.S. State Department.
May 21, 1998—Spain's Cortes, and—on June 23—the country's Senate accepted the Accession Protocols, which were conveyed to the U.S. State Department on July 29.
May 27, 1998—Accession to NATO of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary was accepted by the parliament of Luxembourg. On July 24, the documents of ratification were conveyed to the U.S. State Department.
June 4, 1998—The parliament of Iceland adopted the Accession Protocols and on Aug. 25 conveyed the ratification documents to the U.S. State Department.
July 9, 1998—Belgium's Senate, and—on July 16—the Chamber of Representatives adopted ratification documents of the Accession Protocols, which on Sept. 14 were conveyed to the U.S. State Department.
July 17, 1998—The House of Commons, and—on June 31—the House of Lords adopted ratification documents of the Accession Protocols. On Aug. 17, Great Britain conveyed the documents to the U.S. State Department.
Sept. 5, 1998—In Szczecin, the defense ministers of Poland, Denmark and Germany signed a declaration on the creation of a Multinational North-Eastern Corps. After Poland joins NATO, the corps is to be at the disposal of NATO operational requirements. Its headquarters will be in Szczecin.
Sept. 16, 1998—The parliament of Portugal accepted ratification documents of the Accession Protocols and on Dec. 3 conveyed them to the U.S. State Department.
Sept. 19-Oct. 6, 1998—Polish-British exercises code-named “Uhlan Eagle 98" were held at Drawsko. Some 5,500 British troops took part.
Oct. 6, 1998—The Dutch Senate, and—on Dec. 1—the lower house of the country's parliament adopted ratification documents of the Accession Protocols, which on Dec. 4 were conveyed to the U.S. State Department.
Oct. 20, 1998—Poland's Council of Ministers adopted and conveyed to the Sejm a draft bill on ratification by Poland of the North Atlantic Treaty.
Oct. 21, 1998—Turkey's parliament adopted ratification documents of the Accession Protocols and conveyed them to the U.S. State Department on Dec. 3.
Feb. 17, 1999—Poland's Parliament passes the law allowing the President to ratify the North Atlantic Treaty.
Feb. 26, 1999—President Aleksander KwaŒniewski ratifies the North Atlantic Treaty.
March 12, 1999—Minister of Foreign Affairs Bronis³aw Geremek submits the ratification treaty with the Treaty's Depository Office.

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