United States · Resolution · SRES
S.Res. 208 (106th)
A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate regarding United States policy toward the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union, in light of the Alliance's April 1999 Washington Summit and the European Union's June 1999 Cologne Summit.
Introduced
28 October 1999
Last action
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Status
Resolution agreed to in Senate with an amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent.
Sponsors
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Subjects
Discovery layer
Source updated
14 January 2025
Summary
Declares that the Senate: (1) believes the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should remain the primary institution through which European and North American allies address security issues of transatlantic concern; (2) endorses NATO's decision to launch the Defense Capabilities Initiative, intended to improve the defense capabilities of the European Allies; (3) acknowledges European Union (EU) resolve to have autonomy so it can approve military action where the Alliance as a whole is not engaged; and (4) calls upon NATO and the EU to promulgate together during their respective meetings in 1999 principles that will strengthen the transatlantic partnership, reinforce unity within NATO, and harmonize their roles in transatlantic affairs. Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the EU should make it clear that it would take an autonomous mission through its European Security and Defense Identity only after NATO had been offered the opportunity to undertake that mission but had referred it to EU for action; (2) failure of the European allies of the United States to achieve the goals established through the Defense Capabilities Initiative would weaken support for the Alliance in the United States; (3) the President, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense should encourage NATO allies to commit the resources necessary to upgrade their capabilities to rapidly deploy forces over long distances, sustain operations for extended periods of time, and operate jointly with the United States in high-density conflicts, thus making them effective partners of the United States; (4) the EU must implement its Cologne Summit decisions concerning its Common Foreign and Security Policy in a manner that will ensure that non-Western European Union NATO allies, including Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Turkey, and the United States, will not be discriminated against, but will be fully involved when the EU addresses issues affecting their security interests; and (5) the EU's implementation of its Cologne Summit decisions should not promote a decline in the military resources that European allies contribute to NATO, but should instead promote the complete fulfillment of their respective force commitments to the Alliance.
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Votes
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Versions
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Documents
8 official files
Agreed to Senate (text)
Agreed to Senate (text)
Agreed to Senate · EN · 8 November 1999
Agreed to Senate (PDF)
Agreed to Senate · EN · 8 November 1999
Passed Senate amended
summary · EN · 8 November 1999
Reported to Senate (text)
Reported to Senate · EN · 3 November 1999
Reported to Senate (PDF)
Reported to Senate · EN · 3 November 1999
Introduced in Senate (text)
Introduced in Senate · EN · 28 October 1999
Introduced in Senate (PDF)
Introduced in Senate · EN · 28 October 1999
Introduced in Senate
summary · EN · 28 October 1999
Sponsors
No sponsors or actors listed by the source.
Related records
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Sources
PoliticalRepo is an index and interpretation layer, not the authoritative legal source.
- Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/106th-congress/senate-resolution/208
- Open data entity: https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/106/sres/208