North Macedonia ratifies NATO accession protocol

Lawmakers in North Macedonia unanimously ratified an agreement Tuesday to make the landlocked country in southern Europe the 30th member of the NATO military alliance.

All 114 lawmakers present in the 120-seat parliament voted in favor of ratification. A NATO flag was raised outside the building during a brief ceremony.

The vote took place several weeks ahead of schedule because the current parliament is set to dissolve at the end of the week, ahead of an election planned for April 12.

Spain is the only existing NATO member that has not yet approved North Macedonia's accession; its parliament is expected to hold a ratification vote in March.

Joining NATO and the European Union has been a priority for the former Yugoslav republic's leaders, but a dispute with neighboring Greece over the country's name deterred progress for more than two decades.