NATO asks Albania make last steps toward membership

TIRANA, March 31 – NATO’s Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer sent a letter to Albanian Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha asking the country to make the last formal application so that it becomes a full NATO member later this week.
Scheffer said in the letter that all NATO member countries had notified Washington they had already ratified documents regarding Croatia and Albania’s entry into the Alliance. Scheffer’s letter means that both Croatia and Albania can expect to participate in NATO expansion ceremonies during the Alliance’s summit later this week.
Scheffer said that he was “particularly honored to communicate to the Government of the Republic of Albania an invitation to accede to the North Atlantic Treaty.”
Based on Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty, the Republic of Albania shall become a member party.
Concluding the letter Scheffer expressed his “satisfaction and that of all member States regarding the forthcoming accession of your country to the Atlantic Alliance.”