State Secretary for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Bianca Matković headed 7 May 2008 in Brussels the Croatian delegation at the second and final cycle of Croatia’s NATO accession negotiations. This marks the successful completion of Croatia’s accession negotiations with the North Atlantic Alliance
The talks covered security, legal, and financial issues stemming from the Washington Agreement and determined Croatia’s contribution to the functioning of NATO – approximately 0.27% of its budget, which will amount to between €3 and 4 mil. next year. Said amount is one of the lowest contributions among the member countries.
Croatia now has to draw up the Reform Timetable with precise deadlines by end-June. The signing of accession protocols will take place 9 July 2008. After that, Croatian representatives will join the activities of the North Atlantic Council and NATO’s committees.
In the meantime, accession protocols will be undergoing ratification in the NATO members’ parliaments. Once that process is complete and the Croatian Parliament passes the accession decision, Croatia will enter full membership. This means that at the 2009 NATO Summit in France and Germany, Croatia will be participating at the highest level, for the first time as a full member.
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