At the Ceremony for the Signing of Protocols of Accession for New NATO Members Brussels, 16 Dec. 1997

Address by the Honourable Lloyd Axworthy, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada When Lester Pearson explained the Washington Treaty to Canada's Parliament in February 1949 he noted that "past Alliances have been formed to meet emergencies and have dissolved as the emergencies vanish. It must not be so this time. Our Atlantic Alliance must have a deeper meaning and deeper roots." There can be no doubt that the emergency that led to the creation of NATO has passed. Today we accept the applications of three countries that were seen as adversaries less than a decade ago. Today and tomorrow we will discuss active programs of consultation and co-operation with other countries that were also seen as adversaries. For the many Canadians who trace their roots back to the countries of central and eastern Europe, the signing of these protocols is a truly historic event. Prime Minister Chrtien made it clear in Brussels in 1994 that Canada regarded Partnership for Peace and the North Atlantic Co-operation Council as steps on the road to membership in the Alliance, for those states that sought it. As Pearson did in 1949, he again placed Canada firmly on the side of those who saw the creation of NATO and its subsequent enlargement as steps toward the creation of a broader transatlantic community. NATO is evolving and will continue to do so. We will have new allies with whom to address the challenges of security in the broad sense the Alliance defines it: issues such as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the regulation and safety of nuclear installations, and the threats to our environment from military activity. We also have partners in other institutions who look for our leadership and support, and who can also make real contributions to our capacity to work on these issues together. NATO may be changing, but its core functions have not. The Alliance remains the key security institution for all our democracies. Countries that aspire to join it must share these fundamentals. That is why we have asked them to carry out thorough democratic and economic reforms, peacefully settle differences with their neighbours, and ensure full democratic control of their military establishments if they wish to join us. They must demonstrate their willingness to contribute actively to the security objectives of the Alliance and to the building of partnership, confidence and security of the Euro-Atlantic region as a whole. The three countries that signed the Washington Treaty today have done all of these things. Now we must move swiftly to bring them fully into the family, and to prepare the way for others to join us in the future. Canada continues to support the further enlargement of the Alliance at the earliest possible date. We will continue our efforts to ensure that those countries that have made important progress in the past few years, such as Romania and Slovenia, continue on the path to membership. As members of the Alliance, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic will enhance our security and that of Europe as a whole. They will enrich our discussions of the challenges we face in the future. And they will provide clear examples of how NATO can bring new meaning to its existence. I urge the Alliance members to move rapidly to ratify their membership, and I pledge Canada to doing so. In doing so, we will indeed be giving our Alliance deeper meaning and deeper roots. Thank you.