One Step Closer

From the DW:

“North Macedonia's parliament ratifies NATO membership”

The tiny Balkan country has moved a step closer to becoming the military alliance's 30th member. Its membership had been blocked by neighboring Greece over a name dispute.  Macedonian members of parliament on Tuesday unanimously ratified an agreement to make their country a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). All 114 lawmakers present in the 120-seat parliament voted in favor, with none against or abstaining.  "By joining this alliance, we are not simply joining an international organization," Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski told lawmakers ahead of the vote. "Membership of the world's most powerful military-political alliance is a privilege, but also a huge responsibility.'' A NATO flag was raised in front of the parliament building during the short ceremony. 

Name dispute: North Macedonia's entry into the world's most powerful military alliance had been blocked by Greece for a decade over a name dispute. But Athens dropped its opposition after the former Yugoslav republic agreed to change its name to the Republic of North Macedonia. The country was previously known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or simply Macedonia for short — a name it shared with a Greek province on its border, with both areas part of the historical region of Macedonia. In return for renaming the country North Macedonia, Greece agreed to drop its objections to its neighbor joining NATO and the EU.

^ North Macedonia has gone through a lot since it became independent from Yugoslavia and I would like to see it become a member of NATO and the EU for all its hard work. They are now one step closer to one of those goals. ^

https://www.dw.com/en/north-macedonias-parliament-ratifies-nato-membership/a-52343860