Albania completes NATO celebrations with flag rise

TIRANA, April 8 – In a last move to celebrate Albania’s NATO membership Prime Minister Sali Berisha held another ceremony in his office in Tirana by formally raising the flag of the alliance on Wednesday.
A day earlier the same ceremony but for the Albanian flag was held in Brussels.
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that after being created 60 years ago, “this ceremony underlines once more why NATO remains unique. With the accession of Albania and Croatia, our Atlantic community has now grown to 28 members. This is a testimony not only to the continuing appeal of our Alliance, but also to the vision and courage of its founding fathers.”
He said Albania’s and Croatia’s membership was “a milestone in our Alliance’s history.”
The accession of Albania and Croatia demonstrates that the idea of freedom is irresistible. It demonstrates that nations and peoples across the Atlantic come together when they are given the chance to make their own free choice. This is the clearest demonstration that in today’s Europe, geography no longer is destiny. The accession of Albania and Croatia is of enormous significance – for these two new members, for their wider region, and for the Alliance as a whole. For Albania and Croatia, joining NATO as full members marks the well-deserved reward for many years of hard preparation. It is a full vindication of the vision of those who have, for years, seen their countries’ future in NATO. Both countries will now have a seat at the table where key decisions are made to shape Euro-Atlantic security. And both countries can now enjoy the ultimate security guarantee of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.”
Berisha has said that NATO membership “will go down in the history of a nation.”
“Albania NATO membership consists of the most excellent coronation of all efforts of our country to take the merited place in the family of civilized nations.”