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Chapter 12: The Military Command Structure NATO Enlargement and the Accession of New NATO Members The underlying objective of opening up the Alliance to new members is to enhance stability in Europe as a whole, not to expand NATO's military influence or capabilities or to alter the nature of its basic defence posture. NATO's collective security guarantees and its dependence on multinational force structures offer the best means of achieving the above objective, on the basis of shared risks, shared responsibilities and shared costs. The opening up of the Alliance and the accession of three new members in 1999, combined with the influence of partnership and cooperation in the framework of the Partnership for Peace programme, allows the military focus to be directed towards current and future needs. This implies more mobile and flexible capabilities, designed to facilitate rapid response, reinforcement and other requirements in the crisis management field. New member countries participate in the full range of NATO missions and tasks. They are actively involved, along with the other countries participating in the integrated military command structure, in the planning, development and manning of NATO's force structures. At the Madrid Summit in July 1997, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland were invited to begin accession negotiations with the Alliance. These were completed and Protocols of Accession were signed by the end of 1997. The three new member countries acceded to the Alliance in March 1999. In the intervening period, in parallel with the political process, intensive work was undertaken both in the countries themselves and within NATO to enable Czech, Hungarian and Polish forces to adapt their future role so that the process of joining the military structures of the Alliance could be managed efficiently. Pre-accession briefings and discussions took place to prepare each country for the obligations which they would assume on becoming members of the Alliance and to familiarise them with the procedures and practices which apply. These preparations helped to define each new member country's participation in NATO structures, to establish the methods by which their integration would be achieved, and to facilitate their involvement in Alliance activities during the accession period.