uFIFTEEN YEARS ON ROAD TO NATO
- 23 December 1993 – The Assembly adopts the Decision on accession of the Republic of Macedonia to NATO, thus entrusting President Kiro Gligorov with the task of submitting a request for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
- 15 November 1995 – Macedonia signs the Framework Document on accession to the Partnership for Peace program, practically two years after this program was founded. This membership is conditioned with membership in OSCE, which was blocked a number of times due to the name dispute with Greece. Macedonia also joined the North Atlantic Council for Cooperation, later replaced by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.
- 19 January 1996 – An Agreement on Security Arrangements was signed between Macedonia and NATO.
- 12 April 1996 – The Government endorses NATO’s rules of conduct.
- 24 April 1996 – The Government forms a Service for reciprocal security and protection of information between Macedonia and NATO.
- 30 May 1996 – Macedonia and the United States of America sign the Status-of-Forces Agreement (SOFA), which applies to the NATO member countries. The Assembly unanimously ratified the Law on Ratification of SOFA on 4 June.
- 12 June 1996 – NATO’s North Atlantic Council confirms the Special Program for Macedonia in the Partnership for Peace for the period 1996-1998.
- 14 June 1996 – The Macedonian Liaison Office is opened in the NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
- July 1996 – First participation of Macedonia in a drill of the Partnership for Peace and seven NATO member countries, in Albania.
- 12-16 May 1997 – “Savior 97”, the first military drill of the Partnership for Peace in Macedonia, is held at the Krivolak military training ground.
- November 1997 – Macedonia is one of the founders of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council consisting of 19 NATO member countries and 27 partner countries.
- 26 November 1997 – Formal opening of the Macedonian Mission to NATO in Brussels.
- 1 December 1997 – The Government forms a Committee on Euro-Atlantic Integration, which is supposed to coordinate the preparations for accession to NATO and the EU.
- 8 December 1997 – The Government forms a Working Committee on integration in the collective defense systems.
- 22 April 1998 – The Assembly forms a Committee on European and Euro-Atlantic integration, as a permanent working body.
- 15 June 1998 – “Decisive Hawk”, a NATO air drill in Macedonia. The members of the Macedonian Army special unit “Wolves” participate in this drill.
- 11-18 September 1998 – 13 NATO member countries and 13 member countries of the Partnership for Peace take part in the military drill “Best Cooperative Effort” at the Krivolak military range.
- 2 December 1998 – The Government approves deployment of NATO forces for extraction of the OSCE Verification Mission stationed in Kosovo. Macedonia and NATO sign the Basic Agreement for Operation of NATO Forces in Macedonia on 24 December.
- 23 April 1999 – At the NATO Summit in Washington, Macedonia officially becomes a candidate for membership in NATO, and receives the Action Plan for Membership in NATO.
- 9 June 1999 – NATO approves deployment of troops (KFOR) to Macedonia. NATO and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia sign in Kumanovo the Agreement on withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army from Kosovo, and KFOR enters the province.
- 19 May 2000 – Macedonia is one of the founders of the Vilnius Group – a group of NATO aspirant countries – together with Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. Croatia joins this group in year 2002.
- 29 June 2001 – NATO approves a plan for deployment of 3,500 troops to Macedonia for disarmament of the National Liberation Army. The first troops in the mission “Essential Harvest” arrive in the country on 17 August. The mission is approved officially on 22 August, and it lasts between 27 August and 26 September.
- 27 September 2001 – The Government and NATO reach agreement on a new mission “Amber Fox”, consisting of approximately 1,000 troops. The three-month mandate was extended successively until 16 December year 2002, when the NATO mission “Allied Harmony” was launched. This mission lasted until 31 March year 2003.
- August 2002 – Four Macedonian Army officers depart for Afghanistan as part of the Turkish contingent in the ISAF mission. This is the first mission of the Macedonian Army abroad. In March year 2003 the contingent was expanded to an infantry platoon, while in June year 2006 it was expanded to a mechanized infantry squad deployed in the region of Kabul. A total of 1,143 members of the Macedonian Army have participated in the missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Bosnia-Herzegovina so far. Approximately 250 troops are currently deployed in such operations; approximately 600 troops will be deployed in year 2009; while by year 2013 the Macedonian Army will have 1,500 troops outside Macedonia. So far the United States has bestowed 92 medals on Macedonian troops for their combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, while the German Bundeswehr decorated the sixth Macedonian contingent to Afghanistan.
- 2 May 2003 – At the initiative of President Boris Trajkovski, Macedonia, Albania, and Croatia sign the Charter for Partnership or the Adriatic Charter with the Untied States, at the NATO Summit in Prague.
- 6 June 2003 – Captain Metodi Hadzi Janev steps on Iraqi soil and becomes the first Macedonian Army soldier in a combat mission outside Macedonia.
- 11 October 2004 – U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld decorates members of the “Wolves” army unit for their valor shown in the military operations in Iraq.
- 28 and 29 June 2007 – Ohrid hosts the Security Summit of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.
3 April Greece blocks Macedonia
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