Greek Parliament to ratify North Macedonia’s Nato accession on 8 February

The Greek Parliament is scheduled to ratify the Protocol approving the admission to Nato of the newly renamed Republic of North Macedonia on 8 February.

The country’s admission to Nato was the key issue that determined the strong international push for Athens and Skopje to resolve the decades’ long naming dispute with the Prespa Agreement.

The permanent representatives of the 29 Nato member-states today signed the Accession Protocol for Macedonia.

“Following the signing of the Accession Protocol, Skopje can now take part in NATO activities as an invitee. The accession process now moves to the capitals of the 29 Allies where the Protocol will be ratified according to national procedures. The country will become a member of NATO as soon as all Allies have ratified the Accession Protocol,” Nato said in a statement issued today.

“NATO keeps almost one billion citizens across Europe and North America secure and with you joining NATO there will be thirty countries committed to protect each other. Your accession will bring more stability to the Western Balkans. This is good for the region and for Euro-Atlantic security,” Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated today, praising the courage of Athens and Skopje in concluding the Prespa Agreement.

The protocol will be tabled for discussion at 1pm tomorrow in the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence with the title “Ratification of the Protocol to the [1949] North Atlantic Treaty for the Accession of the Republic of North Macedonia”.

The decision was taken by the conference of the speaker and deputy speakers from opposition parties who comprise the parliamentary presidium, so as to allow more time for MPs and parties to express their positions.

The presidium decided that the Protocol will be tabled in a plenary session of Parliament at 10am on Friday, 8 February, and debate will end the same evening with the ratification vote.

It was agreed that all parties’ rapporteurs and parliamentary representatives as well as one speaker from the pool of 16 independent MPs will be allowed to speak, as will the competent minister and party leaders.

There will also be a list of 14 MPs who will address Parliament – five from SYRIZA, three from main opposition New Democracy, and one from each of the smaller opposition parties.