[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 253 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                       October 7, 2002.
Whereas the Slovak Republic came into existence in 1993 after a peaceful 
        division of Czechoslovakia;
Whereas Slovakia has consistently conducted peaceful transfers of political 
        power;
Whereas Slovakia has demonstrated the maturity of its democracy in democratic, 
        free and fair elections of September 2002 with high voter turnout;
Whereas Slovakia has shown a consistent record of progress in the areas of human 
        rights, civil society, and a free market economy;
Whereas Slovakia's past government (1998-2002), which included three ethnic 
        Hungarians, including a Deputy Prime Minister, demonstrated its 
        commitment to improved relations with national minorities;
Whereas Slovakia reconfirmed its ability to address issues of the past, 
        including the recent decision of its Government to compensate the 
        Holocaust victims;
Whereas Slovakia has continually worked to retain civilian control of its 
        military through active participation with North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization (NATO) forces, and the members of the North Atlantic 
        community have cooperated closely with the military of Slovakia in its 
        reform;
Whereas Slovakia has demonstrated its ability to operate with the military 
        forces of NATO members within activities of the Partnership for Peace 
        program and participated in missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 
        Kosovo;
Whereas Slovakia sent its troops to Afghanistan in support of the war against 
        terrorism and Operation Enduring Freedom;
Whereas Slovakia, geographically located in a strategically significant 
        position, contributed within the framework of Visegrad Four together 
        with its neighbors, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland--all members 
        of NATO since 1999--to regional security and stability; and
Whereas NATO will consider at its 2002 summit meeting in Prague extension of 
        invitations to new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe to join the 
        Alliance: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
            (1) the Slovak Republic should be commended for progressing toward 
        political and economic liberty and for its efforts to meet the 
        guidelines for prospective North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 
        members set out in Chapter 5 of the September 1995 Study on NATO 
        Enlargement;
            (2) Slovakia would make significant contributions to furthering the 
        goals of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization;
            (3) extension of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to include 
        Slovakia would significantly contribute to security and peace of Europe 
        and the region as a whole; and
            (4) Slovakia should be invited to be a full member of the North 
        Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance at the NATO 2002 summit in Prague.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.