The U.S. Congress has approved legislation to endorse the enlargement of NATO. Five Eastern European countries, including two former Soviet Republics, Georgia and Ukraine, are on the list.
Albania, Croatia and Macedonia have been taking part in the NATO Membership Action Plan since 2002.As for Georgia and Ukraine, American Senator Richard Lugar, the top Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, said these two countries have not yet been granted a Membership Action Plan, but have made noticeable progress.The bill has now been given to U.S. President Bush for final approval.