publication and the need to prepare for talks with Brussels on that document, including an elaboration of the Polish position. The initial stage of the works was still marked by irregularity, but their form and participants guaranteed the necessary continuity. This team was then used to form units that staged direct accession talks. As the announced “Study on NATO Enlargement” loomed on the horizon, the global press was hit by a wave of speculation (and, oftentimes, quite exact information) on its details, with the MFA keeping a close eye on any hints. The long-awaited study was announced in Brussels on 28 September 1995.142 Despite the opinions of enlargement opponents that depreciated its content,143 the document described the general terms and methods to achieve the objective. Candidates were also presented with a set of requirements related to building democracy, a market economy, democratic civilian control over armed forces, and the readiness to fulfil duties resulting from future Alliance
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membership. While answering the questions why and how the enlargement should take place, no reference was made to any specific date or country. The study also expressly noted that meeting the membership criteria by candidates would not lead to an automatic invitation. A decision in this respect, taking this factor into account, would retain a political character, reflecting the interests of Alliance members. Given the contemporary situation, the document was the upper limit of political agreement possible among the 16 states and provided a serious forum to discuss NATO enlargement. It was essential also because it noted the need to maintain balance during enlargement and More about the origins of the study and its content analysis: R. Kupiecki, W. Waszczykowski, Studium o rozszerzeniu NATO, Warszawa, 1995.
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Among others: M. Butcher, T. Kokkinides, D. Plesch, Study on NATO Enlargement. Destabilizing Europe, BASIC Research Report 95.2, Brussels, 1995; M. Butcher, T. Kokkinides, NATO Expansion. Time to Reconsider. A Special Report by BASIC and Centre for European Security and Disarmament, Brussels/New York, 1996. For polemics, see, among others: B. Weinrod, “NATO Expansion. Myths and Realities, A Special Report to the Senate Armed Services Committee and House National Security Committee,” Committee Brief, 23, 3 January 1996; M. Albright, “Enlarging NATO. Why Bigger Is Better,” The Economist, 15 February 1996; Ch. Bertram, “Why NATO Must Enlarge,” NATO Review, no. 2, 1997, pp. 14–17.
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