Bulgaria approves Protocol for Accession of Macedonia in NATO

Bulgaria is the first country that approved the Protocol for accession of Macedonia in NATO. Citing sources from within the Bulgarian government, several Bulgarian media report that the council of ministers of the Bulgarian government has notified the Bulgarian Ambassador to NATO to sign the Protocol, which will later be delivered to the parliaments of all NATO member-states for ratification. In meantime, Belgian web portal EURACTIVE, citing anonymous sources, claims that Greece will be the first country to ratify the Protocol no later than 8 February. According to EURACTIVE, if the process for integration of Macedonia in NATO, which usually takes around a year to complete, is accelerated by the national parliaments of the NATO member-states, Macedonia might as well be officially invited to become a NATO member during the alliance’s summit in July 2019.