NATO Summit: Slovenia Invited to Join

Ljubljana, 21 November - Slovenia and six other countries were invited to join NATO as the Alliance began a two-day summit in Prague Thursday. This means that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia would be admitted by May 2004 in what is the biggest expansion in NATO's 53-year history. The expansion will "maintain and increase NATO's strength", Secretary General George Robertson said upon announcing the decison. Satisfaction with the invitation was expressed by the Slovenian leadership, while some opposing voices came from members of the civil society as well as an opposition party.