The bill on strengthening of freedom through NATO is aimed at supporting the continuous enlargement of the alliance so that European democracies capable of and willing to meet membership obligations be admitted to the alliance.
According to the draft, the forthcoming NATO summit scheduled to take place in the Latvian capital of Riga in November, should note progress which Croatia, Macedonia and Albania made while meeting obligations and criteria for NATO membership.
The three countries have been covered by the MAP (Membership Action Plan) plan since 2002, and the bill recommends that Georgia also should be covered by MAP.
The segment of the document stipulating the U.S. military assistance in 2007 for the prospective NATO members proposes that Croatia be allocated three million dollars, Albania USD 3.2 million, Macedonia USD 3.6 million and Georgia USD 10 million.
The sponsors of the bill are senators Joseph Biden, Gordon Smith and Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader, besides Lugar.