Three former Communist states in central Europe have signed protocols with Nato, clearing the way for their admission as full members of the alliance.

The new members, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, will formally join Nato at its 50th anniversary summit in 1999.

The signings took place at a meeting of alliance foreign ministers in Brussels.

Nato's first expansion into the former Soviet bloc needs to be ratified by the parliaments of the 16 present and three new members before it can take effect.

For some Nato members, ratification will be a mere formality. For others, like the United States, it may provoke significant debate.

So far preliminary hearings in the US Senate have gone well for the would-be members.

Most of the questions raised have not been about their suitability but about other matters such as the cost of enlargement, Nato's overall purpose and burden-sharing between the US and its European allies.

There is concern over the military capacities of the new members. Their current military infrastructure is seen as totally incompatible with that of the alliance.

Their training and readiness standards are also well below those required by Nato.

Alliance ministers will also approve the guidelines for the planning required to keep a Nato-led force in Bosnia beyond next June.

No decision will be made until early March, though it looks likely that a restructured force of around 20,000 troops will remain in Bosnia probably for another year.

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