Milestones in Croatian accession to NATO

1 April 2009 at 15:47 CET, by depositing the national North Atlantic Treaty ratification instrument with the US State Department, the Republic of Croatia officially became a full-fledged NATO member. 31 March 2009 Secretary General Scheffer sent a letter to Minister Jandrokovic, formally inviting the Republic of Croatia to join the North Atlantic Alliance. 25 March 2009 Croatian Parliament ratified North Atlantic Treaty 9 July 2008 Minister for Foreign Affairs and European Integration Gordan Jandrokovic led Croatian delegation at the signing ceremony of Protocol on NATO Enlargement to the Republic of Croatia, in Brussels 24 June 2008 Pending the signing of Croatia's NATO accession protocol, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Gordan Jandrokovic sent a letter to NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, in which he confirms Croatia's interest to join the North Atlantic Alliance 15 April 2008 Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Gordan Jandrokovic sent a letter to NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, informing him that Croatia has accepted the invitation for opening accession negotiations with NATO 9 April 2008 NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer sent a letter to Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Gordan Jandrokovic, inviting Croatia to open accession negotiations with NATO 2 April 2008 at Bucharest Summit Croatia was invited to join the NATO 3 December 2007 President Mesic meets the NATO Secretary-General. The NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has commended Croatia for significant progress on the road towards NATO, calling on Zagreb to maintain the current pace of reforms 7 November 2007 MAP/PARP assessment delegation headed by NATO Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, Martin Erdmann visited Croatia 29 June 2007 Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic took part on 28 and 29 June 2007 in the Security Forum of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) Forum, held in Ohrid, Macedonia March 2007 MAP/PARP assessment delegation headed by NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning John Colston visited Croatia 26 January 2007 Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic participated in the Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers of the countries participating in the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) Mission in Brussels. 6 February 2007 Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic participated at the meeting of the foreign and defence ministers of the US-Adriatic Charter members (Croatia, Albania, Macedonia, US) and the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) in Tallinn, the Republic of Estonia 7 December 2006 The Croatian National Committee on NATO Membership met on Thursday under the chairmanship of President Stjepan Mesic, Parliament Speaker Vladimir Seks and Prime Minister Ivo Sanader to discuss the conclusions of NATO's recent summit in Riga, the President's Office said in a statement 6 December 2006 President Stjepan Mesic meets the NATO Secretary-General Japp de Hoop Scheffer during the official visit to NATO HQ 29 November 2006 Final Riga Summit declaration in which NATO Heads of States and Governments highlighted Croatia's significant progress and specified a timeframe for accession to Alliance 6 November 2006 The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, General Raymond Henault, visited Croatia for three days during which he participated in numerous meetings with the highest ranking political and military officials 16 October 2006 The Republic of Croatia has officially presented its Annual National Program (ANP) at the Senior Political Committee reinforced (SPCR) and therefore started the fifth cycle of the Membership Action Plan. 6 July 2006 NATO Secretary-General Japp de Hoop Scheffer visited Croatia 29 May 2006 Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic headed the Croatian delegation at the meeting between the North Atlantic Council (NAC) and Croatia 25 April 2006 The working session entitled Preparations for the next NATO enlargement cycle: Riga summit and the perspectives afterwards, held 25 April 2006 on Brijuni, marked the beginning of the extended US-Adriatic Charter ministerial meeting (Initiative A3) 20 – 22 April 2006 Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, payed official visit to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan 30 January 2006 Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader met with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in NATO HQ in Brussels 8 December 2005 Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic participated in the annual Foreign Ministers' meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) at NATO HQ in Brussels March 7-9th, 2005 NATO MAP/PARP team led by Ambassador Günther Altenburg, Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, visited Croatia's capital. March 1st, 2005 Croatian President, Mr. Stjepan Mesic, visited NATO HQ where the meeting was held with NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. The topics discussed included Croatian cooperation with ICTY, defense reform issues, participation of Croatia in NATO Missions, as well as political situation in South-Eastern Europe. NATO Secretary General expressed satisfaction with current development of defense reform and Croatian contribution to NATO operation in Afganistan. January 26th-February 1st, 2005 For the first time after becoming a member of Partnership for Peace, Croatia participated in the NATO Crisis Management Exercise CMX05. NATO Crisis Management Exercises are held annually and do not include the real involvement of troops. The scenario for CMX05 exercise was fictitious and its main goal was to practice crisis management procedures, including civil-military cooperation on professional and political level in order to maintain and improve the ability to manage crises. Along with 26 NATO member countries, nine Partner nations were involved in CMX 05: Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Finland, Ireland, Macedonia, Sweden and Switzerland. December 9th, 2004 Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs participated in the Ministerial meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council held at NATO HQ in Bruxelles. The main topics of discussion were: ”The Balkans in 2005 and beyond“ and "Caucasus and Central Asia". After debate, NATO Secretary General presented a report on Euro-Atlantic partnership after Istanbul summit, in which NATO encouraged progress made by three Membership Action Plan countries – Croatia, Albania and Macedonia. November 13th-16th, 2004 NATO Parliamentary Assembly held its 50th session in Venice. More than 300 parliamentarians from Member States, Associate members and Observers participated. November 13th 2004 Enlarged meeting was held with the delegations from NATO and seven NATO members: Bulgaria, the Hellenic Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Italy and Turkey, as well as delegations from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro. November 12th 2004 On Brijuni islands, Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a meeting of Partnership Commission with foreign ministers of the US-Adriatic Charter and the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State. After the third Meeting of the Partnership Commission the participants expressed satisfaction with mutual cooperation and progress made in the effort towards the full NATO membership and adopted the following joint statement www.mvp.hr Press Release 295/04. October 21st, 2004 The Third Croatian Annual National Program for 2004/2005 was presented at the meeting of Senior Political Committee at NATO HQ in Bruxelles. October 18th, 2004 Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs held a lecture entitled: "Croatia – the profile of a future NATO and EU member" at NATO HQ, Bruxelles. The Minister also met Deputy Secretary General as well as Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy and informed them on political and defense reforms implemented by Croatia in order to meet requirements necessary for getting membership invitation as soon as possible. October 5-6th, 2004 A seminar on Civil Crisis Communication Planning was organized by Croatian Ministry of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development and NATO Civil Communication Planning Committee in Split. July 1-2nd, 2004 The President and Secretary General of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly visited Croatia. June 28-29th, 2004 NATO and EAPC summit was held in Istanbul. The Heads of State and Government of the Member States adopted the final declaration which confirmed that NATO's door remain open to new Member States and welcomed the progress made by Albania, Croatia and Macedonia in the framework of Membership Action Plan. They also asked NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs to review the individual progress of aspirant countries and report on it in advance of the next Summit, at which time potential new memberships will be reviewed. June 17th, 2004 Ministers of Foreign Affairs, parties to the U.S.- Adriatic Charter (Albania, Croatia and Macedonia), addressed the North Atlantic Council at NATO HQ in Bruxelles and presented the latest achievements in the reform process. May 26th, 2004 NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer visited Croatia and held meetings with president Mesic, Prime Minister Sanader, former Foreign Minister Žužul and Defence Minister Roncevic. May 24-26th, 2004 The seminar "Lessons learned in operations and exercises of the Euro-Atlantic disaster response co-ordination centre" was held in Dubrovnik in joint organisation of NATO and Croatia. April 30th, 2004 At the meeting of the North-Atlantic Council with Croatia, former Foreign Minister Žužul and Defence Minister Roncevic informed on the implementation of the Annual National Programme for the period 2003/2004. With this meeting the second annual cycle of MAP was completed. March 29th, 2004 The Accession ceremony was held in Washington to celebrate the integration of seven new members to NATO. The Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and Foreign Minister participated at the event in the White House. January 13th, 2004 Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, accompanied by former Foreign Minister Miomir Žužul and Defence Minister Berislav Roncevic, visited NATO HQ and held talks with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. PM Sanader was the first Head of Government to meet the new Secretary General at NATO HQ. December 15th, 2003 On behalf of the Republic of Croatia, Ambassador Tus signed Further Additional Protocol to PfP SOFA. This protocol is in the process of being ratified by the Croatian Parliament. October 13th, 2003 At the NATO HQ, Croatia presented its second Annual National Programme for 2003/2004. May 8th, 2003 The Croatian delegation at the meeting with the North-Atlantic Council informed on the implementation of the Annual National Programme for period 2002/2003. With this meeting, the first annual cycle of MAP was completed. May 2nd, 2003 Foreign ministers of Albania, Croatia, Macedonia and the United States signed the US-Adriatic Charter in Tirana. March 31th, 2003 NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson visited Croatia and held meetings with president Mesic and former Prime Minister Racan. February 28th, 2003 A platoon of the Croatian Military Police arrived to Afghanistan as a part of German contingent. Currently, the third rotation of Croatian troops participates in operation ISAF. November 21th, 2002 Croatian President Mesic, former Foreign Minister Picula and Defence Minister Antunovic participated at NATO summit in Prague. In the final declaration the Heads of State and Government stated that Croatia has made encouraging progress on reform and will be under consideration for future membership. They added that the progress in this regard will depend upon Croatia's further reform efforts and compliance with all of its international obligations, including to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Furthermore, they emphasised that the Membership Action Plan will remain the vehicle to keep aspirants' progress under review and that seven invitees will not be the last. Autumn 2002 Croatia handed over to NATO its first Annual National Programme 2002-2003 in the framework of MAP. July 24th, 2002 NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson visited Croatia and held meetings with president Mesic and former Prime Minister Racan. May 21-24th, 2002 The fire-fighting field exercise "Taming the Dragon – Dalmatia 2002" was held in Makarska, Croatia. In total 33 countries members of EAPC participated in this exercise. It was jointly organised by Croatia and Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC). May 2002 Croatia received an invitation to participate in the Membership Action Plan (MAP) at the meeting of the North-Atlantic Council at the level of foreign ministers held in Reykjavik. May 8th, 2002 At NATO HQ, former Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula and Defence Minister Željka Antunovic held meetings with NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson and the North-Atlantic Council. December 7th, 2001 The Croatian Parliament ratified the Agreement among States parties to the North Atlantic Treaty and the other States participating in the Partnership for Peace regarding the status of their forces (PfP SOFA), as well as Additional Protocol to that Agreement. PfP SOFA between NATO and Croatia and its Additional Protocol entered into force on 10 February 2002. May 16th, 2001 At NATO HQ, former Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan held meetings with NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson and the North-Atlantic Council. July 2001 Croatia started to participate in the Intensified Dialogue on Membership Issues during 2001, in the framework of NATO's South East Europe Initiative, Croatia chaired the SEEGROUP. February 2001 NATO approved the first Croatian Individual Partnership Programme for 2000-2001. This document contains a list of PfP activities in which Croatia intends to participate during its first cycle in PfP. February 2001 H.E. Anton Tus was accredited as the first Croatian Ambassador to NATO. The Croatian Mission to NATO was opened in the Alliance's HQ in Brussels. February 2001 NATO approved the first Croatian Individual Partnership Programme for 2000-2001. This document contains a list of PfP activities in which Croatia intends to participate during its first cycle in PfP. November 30th, 2000 NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson visited Croatia. Autumn 2000 Croatia delivered its Partnership for Peace Presentation Document in which informs NATO about its objectives in the PfP. May 30th, 2000 Croatia became an Associate member country of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. May 25th, 2000 Former Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula signed the PfP Framework Document in Florence. On the same day, Croatia became a member of the EAPC (Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council). May 2000 The first official visit of the Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan to NATO, during which he addressed the North-Atlantic Council. March 2000 NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson visited Croatia. April 23-24th, 1999 For the first time, Croatia participated as an observer in the NATO Summit held in Washington. On the same occasion the first summit of the Consultative Forum on Security Issues on South East Europe was held. At the beginning of 2000, Croatia was offered a Comprehensive security cooperation programme, on the basis of which Croatia became an observer in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. March 1999 Kosovo crisis erupted and Operation Allied Force was launched. By opening its sky to NATO aircrafts, Croatia provided its support to the operation. Croatia also provided logistical support to KFOR. Together with other countries neighbouring the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia participated in the Consultative Forum on Security Issues on South East Europe which was a part of NATO's South East Europe Initiative. Since 1995 When the SFOR Status of Forces Agreement was signed, Croatia continues to provide logistical and other types of support (i.e. Host-nation support) to the SFOR mission in B&H. Host-nation support to SFOR is a continuation of the Croatian support to the UN peace troops in B&H. Spring 1994 Croatian delegation composed of the chief military counsellor of the President of the Republic, Deputy Foreign Minister and Ambassador in Belgium has visited the NATO HQ and expressed Croatia's interest for participation in the PfP. January 10th, 1994 The Heads of State and Government participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels issued a Framework Document for Partnership for Peace (PfP) and Basic Document of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC).

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