NATO to Sign Accession Protocol with Macedonia

Foreign ministers of NATO member states and Macedonia are to sign the protocol on the country's accession to the alliance, which marks a major step on the country's path to full membership.

Macedonia is to take up its seat at the alliance immediately after this ceremony, but will not immediately become a fully-fledged member.

The country will not have the right to vote and participate in key decisions until all 29 parliaments of the NATO countries have ratified the accession protocol. Judging by previous experiences, this process is expected to last from one to two years.

"On 6 February we will write history," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg previously wrote on Twitter, announcing the signing of the protocol with the "future Republic of North Macedonia".

Macedonia enters the alliance under a new name, Republic of North Macedonia, which was agreed in the historic "name" deal signed last summer with Greece.

In return for changing its name, to which Greece had objected for years - insisting it implied territorial claims towards its own northern province also called Macedonia - Athens agreed to lift its long-standing blockade on Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic accession.

NATO invited Macedonia to join the alliance last year, shortly after it struck the agreement with Greece. The deal also opened doors for Macedonia at the EU; the country hopes to launch long overdue EU accession talks this year.

In what is expected to be a largely symbolic gesture, the Greek government is expected to be the first country to ratify North Macedonia's NATO accession protocol.

According to unnamed sources quoted by EURACTIV.com. the Greek parliament is expected to ratify the protocol by the end of this week.

While...