On Thursday, 16 May, the Saeima passed in the second and final reading a law ratifying the Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of the Republic of North Macedonia, which will allow the western Balkan nation to became a full member of the NATO.

"NATO safeguards the security of almost one billion people in Europe and North America, and with the accession of the Republic of North Macedonia to the Organisation, there will now be 30 members which stand ready to defend each other. Hopefully, the accession of North Macedonia to the Alliance will also strengthen regional and Euro-Atlantic security," Rihards Kols, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee responsible for the draft law, had said earlier.

The decision to invite North Macedonia to begin accession talks was made in July 2018, and on 6 February 2019 the Permanent Representatives to NATO signed the Protocol for the Accession of the Republic of North Macedonia to the North Atlantic Treaty.

Following the signing of the Protocol, the accession process entered the ratification phase where the NATO allies ratify the Protocol according to their respective national procedures. After all NATO member states have ratified the protocol, it will be up to the Republic of North Macedonia to complete its part of the ratification process in accordance with its national ratification procedures. 

Saeima Press Service