[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10596]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADRIATIC TREATY SIGNED

  (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to inform the House about the 
signing of the Adriatic treaty last Friday in the Albanian capital of 
Tirana. This agreement was signed by Secretary of State Powell and the 
foreign ministers of Albania, Croatia, and the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia, the three currently-remaining NATO aspirant nations.
  The Adriatic Charter pledges the United States to support efforts by 
Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia to join NATO and other Euro-Atlantic 
institutions. In this agreement, the three aspirant nations commit 
themselves to accelerate their democratic reforms, protect human 
rights, implement market-oriented economic policies, and enhance their 
mutual cooperation.
  Under the Adriatic Charter, the United States and these three 
countries pledge to consult whenever the security of one of them is 
threatened, and the aspirant countries promise to continue defense 
reforms and undertake steps to enhance border security so they can 
contribute to regional stability.
  Mr. Speaker, the Adriatic Charter is one more important step toward 
President Bush's goal of a Europe whole and free from the Baltic to the 
Black Sea. I commend and congratulate the people of Albania, Croatia, 
and Macedonia on the occasion of the signing of the Adriatic Charter.

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