Washington, DC (JBANC) ---- NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has confirmed April 2, 2004 as the date when seven aspirant candidate countries, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, will officially become members of the transatlantic alliance.
The new Secretary General noted the successful conclusion of the NATO Treaty ratification process by all 19 current alliance members during a February 23 meeting with Antanas Valionis, Foreign Minister of Lithuania.France became the 19th and final NATO ally country to ratify the protocols of accession on February 5.
The official flag-raising ceremony will be held prior to a meeting of 26 foreign ministers oft he alliance member states on April 2 at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. This will mark the introduction of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, together with Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia,as official members of NATO.
Freedom, democracy and independence will have prevailed when those seven countries from Central and East Europe join NATO. The alliance grows in strength and unity as it accepts a group of countries that are united by their dedication to universal values and their commitment to international stability, security and prosperity. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been acting as de facto NATO allies, with its requisite burden sharing, for nearly a decade.
The historic moment of NATO membership signifies the most significant distancing from the old geopolitical divide between East and West, which split the world for the greater part of the 20th century. The Iron Curtain -a symbol of oppression, historic injustice and the tragedy of the independent soul - will become only a painful memory and a lesson for future generations to not repeat the tragic mistakes of the past.
The Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc. (JBANC), which has long supported NATO enlargement to the Baltics, warmly welcomes the coming membership status of the Baltic countries, and other new allies, in NATO.
JBANC represents the Estonian American National Council, Inc., the American Latvian Association, Inc. and the Lithuanian American Council, Inc.
Baltic Countries Set to Join NATO on April 2 Washington, DC (JBANC)
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