How to proceed with Ukraine's and Georgia's accession to NATO will dominate the agenda of a two-day NATO foreign ministers' meeting after it became clear that a Membership Action Plan (MAP) for the two countries is out of the question.
MAP has been a mandatory procedure for aspirant countries to join NATO since 1999.
At the April 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, capital of Romania, European allies, led by Germany and France, thwarted U.S. President George W. Bush's attempts to grant MAP to the two countries. As a compromise, NATO leaders promised that the two countries will ultimately become members of NATO. They also commanded their foreign ministers to assess MAP for the two countries at their December meeting.
Since MAP looks impossible at the moment, NATO foreign ministers will now debate the way forward on the two countries' accession, specifically, whether MAP shall be dropped at all.
Prior to the meeting, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker suggested bypassing the MAP issue and engaging in practical support to bring these two countries closer to NATO.
"The problem that we have is that ... the Membership Action Plan is now something that has become so politicized that we can't agree to use it. So we've got to find a way forward where we actually are able to work with these countries and help them through this reform process that is necessary and will take some time to come," Volker said in a video message.
He argued that bypassing MAP can avoid disputes within NATO and with Russia. "If we do that, I think we can deescalate the issue, we can avoid a confrontation and just get the work done that needs to be done. The problem is that if we don't do that, then we're going to face a crisis within NATO every time we meet. Is it MAP? Is it not MAP? What do we do?"
However, Germany has made clear its opposition to any alternative to MAP. The country, together with France and Italy, does not want to enrage Russia, which is vehemently against NATO enlargement.
NATO spokesman James Appathurai on Monday refused to say whether MAP will be dropped.
"There has been until 1999 no MAP. Since then MAP has been the process. I can't prejudge what will happen in the future," he told reporters.
MAP was launched in 1999 to accommodate the accession of former Warsaw Pact countries. Under MAP, aspirant countries submit annual national programs in various fields with a view to meet NATO standards. NATO provides assistance and advice and assess progress each year.
Although MAP itself does not guarantee NATO membership, all countries that have gone through MAP have either joined NATO or are assured places in the alliance.