Post-communist countries see alliance entry as way to West

Petar Stoyanov, former president of Bulgaria, says the citizens of his country think joining NATO would boost the economy of the struggling Balkan nation. Bulgaria's people, who are among Europe's poorest, have endured harsh economic reforms since the fall of communism, including a hike in defense spending to overhaul the nation's bloated, Soviet-era military. Joining the 19-member alliance at the Nov. 21-22 NATO summit in Prague would be a reward for Bulgaria's painful sacrifices, says Stoyanov, who led the country from 1997 to January 2002. Seven post-communist countries are gearing up to receive NATO invitations at the summit, the alliance's first meeting behind the former Iron Curtain. The longtime favorites for this round of NATO expansion have been Slovenia, the Slovak Republic and the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Bulgaria and Romania weren't seriously considered until last year's Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., when the United States realized the nations' strategic proximity to the Middle East. Croatia, Albania and Macedonia have started candidacy proceedings but aren't expected to get NATO invitations at the summit.