On April 11, HCSS together with the Embassies of Poland, the Czech Republic, Finland, and Sweden to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, co-hosted an event commemorating NATO’s enlargement in 1999, celebrating the recent joining of Finland and Sweden, and set the stage for the upcoming NATO summits to be held in the United States and the Netherlands between 2024 and 2025.
For almost 75 years, NATO has been the most important pillar of European security by providing a strong link between Europe and North America in the political and defence spheres. With successive waves of enlargement, soon 32 countries (with the recent addition of Finland and Sweden) will be members of the North Atlantic Alliance, while others actively seek accession to the Organisation.
Since its conception, NATO, strictly a defensive alliance, has undergone a number of important changes and transformations. One of unquestionable milestones in the history of the Alliance was its enlargement of 1999. In a ceremony held on March 12 that year, in Independence, Missouri (US), the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary joined the Alliance. 25 years after this momentous event it is clear that this enlargement of NATO was a bold step that brought about military transformation of its new members, strengthened security in this part of Europe and solidified the Western orientation of the whole region. In many ways it has also transformed the Alliance, inter alia leading to formalizing the process of joining the organization with “Membership Action Plans”.
Once believed to be a relic of the Cold War, the Alliance is nowadays needed more than ever. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has shown that security cannot be taken for granted. In the present, very challenging and unstable security environment, NATO is seen as an important security and stability provider. Its newest members, Finland and Sweden, will make a valuable contribution to efforts aimed at minimising and dealing effectively with growing security concerns related to NATO’s Eastern Flank.
The Embassies of the Czech Republic, Finland, Poland and Sweden to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and their national leading think-tanks, in cooperation with HCSS, jointly hosted a seminar to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 1999 enlargement and to discuss the Alliance’s response to the past, present and future threats and challenges to trans-Atlantic security with a special focus on the current situation in Europe and the newest members of the Alliance. The event also contributed to promoting NATO related discussions on the way to the NATO Summit that the Netherlands is to host in 2025.
The event was by invitation only and was held under the Chatham House Rule. See below the Key Takeaways from the session.
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