The Path of the Republic of North Macedonia to NATO
– Cooperation with NATO began in December 1993, when the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia adopted the Resolution on the accession of the Republic of Macedonia to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).
– In November 1995, the Republic of Macedonia became a member of the Partnership for Peace (PfP), and in June 1996 the Liaison Office of the Republic of Macedonia at NATO was opened.
– In April 1997 – the Republic of Macedonia was admitted to the PARP process, and in November 1997 the Mission of the Republic of Macedonia to NATO was opened in Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium.
– In April 1999 – at the NATO Summit in Washington, the Republic of Macedonia officially became a candidate country for membership in the Alliance. Since then, taking into account the consensus of all political actors in the country and the strong public support for NATO membership, the Republic of Macedonia has been working on building relations with the Alliance, using all tools and modalities at its disposal.
– In August 2002 – the Republic of Macedonia sent two peacekeepers for the first time to the ISAF Mission in Afghanistan, and in May 2003 Macedonia, Albania, and Croatia, together with the United States, signed the Partnership Charter (Adriatic Charter).
– In April 2008 – At the NATO Summit in Bucharest, Macedonia's progress and fulfillment of membership criteria were confirmed, but an invitation to join was not extended. The Summit conclusions noted that an invitation to Macedonia would be sent after finding a mutually acceptable solution to the name dispute with Greece.
– At the NATO Summits of 2009 (Strasbourg and Kehl), 2010 (Lisbon), 2012 (Chicago), 2014 (Wales), and 2016 (Warsaw), the contribution of Macedonia to NATO-led international operations and support for Alliance goals was continuously welcomed, reaffirming that an invitation to join would be extended once a mutually acceptable solution to the name dispute with Greece was found.
– At the session held on December 25, 2017, the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia adopted a Declaration to accelerate reforms and integration processes for accession of the Republic of Macedonia to the EU and NATO (Official Gazette No. 192 of 26.12.2017).
– Following NATO recommendations, the Government took concrete steps to increase the Defense Budget, starting with a 2018 increase, and continued increasing the Defense Budget annually by 0.2% to reach the goal of allocating 2% of GDP for defense.
– On July 11-12, 2018, at the NATO Summit in Brussels, the Republic of Macedonia was officially invited to start accession negotiations.
– On July 19, 2018, the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, at its 57th session, adopted a Declaration supporting the accession process of the Republic of Macedonia to NATO.
– On July 25, 2018, a NATO delegation led by James McKay, Director of Euro-Atlantic and Global Partnership at the NATO Political and Security Affairs Division, visited Macedonia, marking the start of accession talks. The head of the NATO team for accession talks with Macedonia was appointed as NATO Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy (ASG PASP), Ambassador Alejandro Alvargonzalez.
– On August 1, 2018, the NATO Accession Process Implementation Plan was delivered to Macedonia.
– On September 5, 2018, at the 86th regular session, the Government of Macedonia established the Committee for Integration of the Republic of Macedonia into NATO. The Committee is chaired by the Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, with deputies: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Radmila Shekerinska, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Bujar Osmani, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Dimitrov. A Working Committee was also formed, chaired by the National Coordinator for NATO membership preparation, Stevo Pendarovski, and supported by the Secretariat.
– A Reform Continuation Program was drafted, covering reforms in the rule of law, human rights, fight against corruption and organized crime, army reform activities, and activities for implementing legal and financial obligations of NATO membership.
– On September 5-6, 2018, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made an official visit to Macedonia, the first after the invitation for membership. During the visit, Stoltenberg welcomed government efforts and conveyed that full membership depends on the referendum outcome and implementation of the Prespa Agreement.
– On October 18-19, 2018, accession talks between Macedonia and NATO were formally concluded in Brussels.
– On December 6, 2018, at a meeting of NATO members' permanent representatives, the Reform Continuation Program (RCP) was presented, marking the end of the second phase of the accession process.
– On January 21, 2019, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Dimitrov sent a letter to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressing the country's readiness to accept and honor NATO membership obligations and formally expressing interest in receiving an invitation to join NATO. The Reform Continuation Program was officially submitted with the letter.
– On February 6, 2019, the permanent representatives of the 29 NATO member states signed the accession protocol for North Macedonia’s NATO membership at NATO headquarters. With this signing, the next phase of the accession process began, involving ratification by national parliaments and institutions of Alliance member countries.
– On February 13-14, 2019, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Radmila Shekerinska participated in a NATO meeting of defense ministers in Brussels, Belgium, marking the first time a senior official from Macedonia attended a ministerial session open only to NATO members.
– On December 4, 2019, in London, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev led the delegation from Macedonia participating for the first time at the NATO Leaders' Summit.
– On February 11, 2020, the Assembly of North Macedonia ratified the NATO membership protocol. With no votes against or abstentions, 114 MPs voted in favor of the country's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance.
– On February 12, 2020, President Stevo Pendarovski signed the law ratifying the North Atlantic Treaty.
– On March 17, 2020, under specific European and global conditions, the Spanish Senate ratified the NATO membership protocol by video conference, with all votes in favor, completing the ratification process by all Alliance member states. The protocol was deposited by Spain in Washington, D.C. two days later.
– On March 20, 2020, President Pendarovski signed the Instrument of Accession of North Macedonia to the North Atlantic Alliance.
– On March 27, 2020, North Macedonia became a full member of the world's largest military-political alliance – NATO.
– On March 30, 2020, the flag of North Macedonia was raised at NATO headquarters in Brussels, at the Allied Command Operations in SHAPE – Mons, and at the Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia.
NATO IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA
– The NATO Liaison Office in Skopje, based at the Ministry of Defense, operated until April 2020; the last Head of the Liaison Office was Colonel Zoran Janković.
– The last NATO contact embassy was the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia.
– At the 135th Government session, the Government of North Macedonia appointed Dane Taleski, foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, to take over the duties of the National Coordinator for NATO membership preparations after Stevo Pendarovski resigned due to his election as President of the Republic of North Macedonia.