2008 Bucharest summit

Bucharest summit

Bucharest summit logo
Host country Romania
Dates 2–4 April 2008
Venue(s) Palace of the Parliament, Bucharest

The 2008 Bucharest Summit or the 20th NATO Summit was a NATO summit organized in the Palace of the Parliament, Bucharest, Romania on 2 – 4 April 2008.[1][2] Among other business, Croatia and Albania were invited to join the alliance. Macedonia was not invited due to its ongoing naming dispute with Greece. Georgia and Ukraine had hoped to join the NATO Membership Action Plan,[3] but the NATO members decided to review their request in December 2008.[4]

The fear that NATO is evolving into a worldwide coalition of the willing, as such increasing polarisation and militarization in international affairs, sparked protests at NATO's HQ in Brussels two weeks before the summit,[5] and in Bucharest.[6] Protesters targeted the renewed determination of NATO to use nuclear weapons[7][8] and NATO's backing of the US anti-missile shield.[9]

Summit agenda

The summit

As said by Craig Kennedy in an introduction to the NATO Bucharest summit[10] and from the NATO summit program.[11]

Host

Romania competed for the organization of this summit with Portugal, which initially was scheduled to host the summit in 2006, but eventually conceded in favor of Latvia, which held the 2006 Riga Summit.[2] Romania received support from the United States, and U.S. Under Secretary of State R. Nicholas Burns said in December 2006 that Romania deserved the honor to hold this event due to its contribution to the Alliance's common effort in the War in Afghanistan and for stability in the Iraq War. Romania has been a member of NATO since 14 March 2004.

Non-invitation

An invitation to join the Alliance was not extended to Macedonia. Greece had threatened on several occasions to veto the country's NATO bid due to the longstanding naming dispute over the latter's name.[12] The last UN proposal before the summit was the name "Republic of Macedonia (Skopje)", which was rejected by Greece.[13] Athens argues that use of the name "Macedonia" implies territorial claims on its own region of Macedonia.[9] Skopje denies this,[14] citing constitutional amendments that specifically exclude "territorial pretensions".[15][16] NATO officials said the country could begin talks on joining the alliance as soon as it had resolved its dispute with Greece.[17]

While under the terms of the Interim Accord, signed between the two parties in 1995, Athens agreed not to block "membership in international, multilateral and regional organizations and institutions" under the FYROM acronym,[18] Greece expected that the country would immediately request recognition by its constitutional name once it gained entry into the organization.[19] According to politicians in Skopje, Athens has directly breached the Interim Accord.[20]

The governments that supported its membership bid argued that the country had completed the necessary reforms for membership, and that regional stability would be challenged if it did not join NATO.[21][22] Conversely, Athens contends that although Skopje rejects territorial claims officially, in practice there have been numerous irredentist provocations by high government officials, schoolbooks, and other governmental publications.[23][24] Senior officials in Skopje asserted that the country had fulfilled NATO requirements to join and was being "punished" for its identity.[25]

After an application for ruling submitted after this Summit by Macedonia against Greece on this matter before the International Court of Justice, on 5 December 2011 the Court ruled that Greece had indeed breached the accords and was wrong to do so.[26]

NATO-Russia meeting

Romanian President Traian Băsescu and Russian President Vladimir Putin, before NATO summit, in Bucharest, on 4 April 2008.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was invited to the summit, and he arrived on the second day (3 April) to participate in bilateral NATO-Russia talks. He opposed the US plans to deploy missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic, which was discussed at the summit. Russia also opposed Georgia and Ukraine's NATO membership bids.[27]

Outcome

Summary of 2 April

Summary of 3 April

Summary of 4 April

After the summit

References

  1. Bucharest to host 2008 NATO Summit, NATO, 27 April 2007,
  2. 1 2 Romania to host NATO summit in spring 2008, Romanian Information Center in Brussels, 2007
  3. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  4. 1 2 3 Nato denies Georgia and Ukraine. The BBC News. 3 April 2008.
  5. "Arrests at Belgian Nato protest". BBC News. 22 March 2008. and "Over 100 anti-war protesters arrested at NATO HQ". Reuters. 22 March 2008.
  6. "Romanian police question 46 anti-NATO demonstrators after scuffle". International Herald Tribune. 2 April 2008.
  7. Traynor, Ian (22 January 2008). "Pre-emptive nuclear strike a key option, Nato told". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  8. "Nato 'must prepare to launch nuclear attack'". The Daily Telegraph (London). 23 January 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  9. 1 2 "Nato to back US missile defence". BBC News. 3 April 2008.
  10. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  11. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  12. Trend News : Greece to veto Macedonia membership at NATO summit
  13. Greece dissatisfied with UN proposal on Macedonia name dispute Archived 7 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  14. Macedonia Leaves NATO Summit Early in Protest Over Membership Delay
  15. Macedonia: New Developments In Name Row With Greece – RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY
  16. Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia
  17. "The NATO summit – With allies like these – Economist.com". The Economist. 3 April 2008.
  18. Macedonia FAQ: Interim Accord between the Hellenic Republic and the Republic of Macedonia
  19. George Delastik, The End of the Balkans, 2008, p.p.85-100
  20. EXTRA: Macedonians walk out of NATO summit over Greek rejection : Europe World
  21. Lungescu, Oana (4 April 2008). "Nato Macedonia veto stokes tension". BBC News. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  22. Macedonian delegation to stage protest walkout after NATO membership bid delayed – International Herald Tribune
  23. Interview of FM Ms. Bakoyannis in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, with journalist Michael Martens
  24. Bakoyannis, Dora (1 April 2008). "All in a Name". The Wall Street Journal.
  25. Makfax vesnik
  26. International Court of Justice: The Court finds that Greece, by objecting to the admission of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to NATO, has breached its obligation under Article 11, paragraph 1, of the Interim Accord of 13 September 1995, 5 December 2011
  27. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080331/ap_on_re_eu/russia_vs_nato_1
  28. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  29. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  30. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  31. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  32. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  33. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  34. Michael Evans and Francis Elliott (3 April 2008). "Nato summit: George Bush abandoned over Ukraine and Georgia". London: The Times. Retrieved 7 April 2008.
  35. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  36. NATO news: NATO launches new TV channel – 28 March 2008
  37. natochannel.tv
  38. "Bucharest Summit Declaration Issued by the Heads of State and Government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Bucharest on 3 April 2008". NATO. 3 April 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2008.
  39. NATO chief welcomes Albania and Croatia for 2009. RadioNetherlands. 3 April 2008. Archived 8 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  40. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  41. ekathimerini.com | Greece blocks FYROM but still wants to talk. eKathimerini.com. 4 April 2008.
  42. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  43. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  44. NATO invites Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina to intensify dialogue_English_Xinhua
  45. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  46. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  47. 1 2 NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  48. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  49. Moldpres News Agency Archived 21 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  50. NATO news:Malta re-engages in the Partnership for Peace Programme – 3 April 2008
  51. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008
  52. BalkanInsight.com – NATO, Russia Disagree on Kosovo Archived 7 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  53. The News | News
  54. Evans, Michael (5 April 2008). "Vladimir Putin tells summit he wants security and friendship". The Times (London).
  55. NATO Summit Bucharest 2008

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