Speaking ahead of a meeting of Alliance defence ministers in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he hoped accession talks for FYROM’s membership to the Alliance would be completed by January 2019.
“Accession talks have already begun. And I expect that we will conclude them by January next year”, he explained to the press. “Once all the constitutional changes on the new name are completed, we can sign the accession protocol, giving Skopje a seat at NATO’s table early next year. This is an historic opportunity”, he added.
For this, however, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia must adopt the necessary constitutional changes and implement the Prespa agreement. Stoltenberg reiterated his warning that, although NATO is ready to welcome FYROM as the 30th Ally, “the only way [for it to become a member] is to implement the name agreement. There is no other way to NATO membership”. He went on to insist that: “We have seen some highlight the possibility of rejecting the agreement while at the same time joining NATO. That will not happen. It is not an alternative”.
During the previous evening, in a joint press release with the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, Stoltenberg had already pointed out that “the name agreement between Athens and Skopje has created an historic opportunity for the country to join the transatlantic and European community on an equal footing”. They had both called for the country’s name change procedure to be continued. “During the consultative referendum (...) an overwhelming majority of those who voted supported this course. It is now up to political leaders in Skopje to decide on what to do next. The decisions they will take in coming days and weeks will determine the fate of their country and their people for many generations to come. We encourage them to seize this historic opportunity”, they said.
Since 1999, 13 countries have joined the Alliance, Stoltenberg said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)