BRUSSELS, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Mention the word "enlargement" to most Brussels insiders and they automatically assume you are talking about the expansion of the European Union to take in 10 Central and Eastern European countries in 2004.
But there is another enlargement process taking place in Europe that will have equally profound implications for the future stability of the continent.
At a landmark summit in the Czech capital, Prague, next week, NATO leaders are likely to accept membership applications from Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Barring any last-minute glitches, NATO's fifth enlargement would represent a milestone for the world's most powerful military alliance.
Firstly, it would be by far the biggest expansion of the bloc in its 50-year history, taking the number of NATO members from 19 to 26.
Secondly, all the countries expected to get the green light in Prague are former communist states that, with the exception of Slovenia, belonged to the Warsaw Pact until just over a decade ago.
This is not the first time the Alliance has taken in old eastern bloc enemies -- three years ago the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland joined -- but if Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania get the nod in Prague, it would certainly be the first time former Soviet republics countries have entered the Transatlantic club.
Until the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Russia's response to the three Baltic states' bid for NATO membership was a firm "niet." At one stage, the Kremlin even issued veiled threats to reoccupy the newly independent countries if they continued to cozy up to the West.
The increasingly close ties between Russia and the Alliance -- and in particular between Presidents Bush and Vladimir Putin -- have removed this potential obstacle to enlargement. The U.S. leader has even penciled in a visit to Latvia immediately after the Prague summit. Bush has also added a side trip lasting a few hours to St. Petersburg for a second meeting with Putin.
The final reason why the next wave of enlargement is so historic is that it will put a final nail in the coffin of the Cold War that divided Europe into two opposing camps for almost half a century.
By mid-December, when EU leaders are set to invite Cyprus, Malta and eight former communist countries to join the 15-member club, Europe will be united for the first time since the Roman Empire.
Prague will also underline how tight relations with Moscow have become since NATO and Russia set up a joint council to counter terrorism and other shared threats in May.
"Our summit will demonstrate that the idea of a common security culture from Vancouver to Vladivostok is no longer a pipe dream, but a goal that lies within our grasp," said NATO chief George Robertson Friday.
Like Bush, the former British defense minister believes a "big bang" NATO expansion will bring huge benefits to the Brussels-based body.
"Enlargement strengthens our Alliance. It answers the legitimate aspirations of democratic nations. It enhances stability by encouraging reform. And it broadens the family of Euro-Atlantic countries."
However, not everyone is convinced of the advantages of taking in seven relatively small, poor and militarily weak countries.
The Pentagon is believed to have grave misgivings about the next wave of enlargement and is reported to have advised U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to block applications from Latvia, Slovenia and Bulgaria.
Rumsfeld overruled the Pentagon's advice, but doubts about the wisdom of enlargement remain.
Writing in the autumn issue of the NATO Review, three Anglo-Irish academics -- Andrew Cottey, Timothy Edmunds and Anthony Forster -- openly question whether the new members will bring much "value-added."
If the seven former communist states get the go-ahead to join in Prague, the Alliance's total population will have increased from 735 million to 839 million since 1999 -- an expansion of 14 percent.
At the same time, the authors note that NATO's total defense spending is set to increase by only 1.5 percent and is unlikely to rise in the future given the limited budgets of Central and Eastern European countries.
Few doubt that the admission of seven new members has more to do with paying historical debts and cementing democracy in eastern Europe than with expanding the bloc's military capabilities.
However, this seems a small price to pay for reunifying a divided continent and putting an end to the wars that have plagued Europe for millennia.
