North Macedonia became NATO’s newest member, on March 27th 2020, upon depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the US State Department in Washington, D.C.
NATO Allies signed North Macedonia’s Accession Protocol in February 2019, after which all 29 national parliaments voted to ratify the country’s membership.
Speaking in Brussels on Friday NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, “North Macedonia is now part of the NATO family, a family of thirty nations and almost one billion people. A family based on the certainty that, no matter what challenges we face, we are all stronger and safer together.“ North Macedonia is a long-standing contributor to our Euro-Atlantic security, including by participating in NATO-led missions in Afghanistan and in Kosovo.
A flag-raising ceremony for North Macedonia took place at NATO’s Allied Command Transformation on March 30th, 2020, in the presence of the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation General Andrè Lanata.
Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, General André Lanata, echoed Secretary General words on the other side of the Atlantic: “At times like these, friends and Allies are more important than ever. And you now have the best friends and Allies in the world. We are all safer and stronger together than alone.”
The flag of North Macedonia was simultaneously raised at NATO’s Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk (USA), NATO’s Allied Command Operations in Mons (Belgium) and at NATO Headquarters in Brussels (Belgium) as a visible demonstration of transatlantic ties and NATO’s common work towards a more peaceful and prosperous Europe.
