29 Mar. 2004

Seven new members join NATO News 26/03/2004 - NATO Ceremony to mark the accession to NATO of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia and informal working luncheon of Foreign Ministers Brussels, 2 April 2004 26/03/2004 - NATO Secretary General of NATO to travel to Washington for United States Ceremony marking the Accession of seven new NATO Members Background Enlargement Focus series on 7 new members NATO member countries Opinions 29/03/04 - Washington Remarks by US President George W. Bush at the NATO Accession Ceremony 29/03/04 - Washington Remarks by US Secretary of State Colin L. Powell at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Accession Lunch Multimedia 29/03/04 - Washington Photos of the Accession Ceremony for Seven New NATO Members in Washington D.C. (USA) 29/03/04 - Washington Speech by US President George W. Bush at the Accession Ceremony for Seven New NATO Members .WMV/7476Kb .MP3/4472Kb Key links United States Department of State On 29 March, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia formally became members of NATO by depositing their instruments of accession with the United States Government. At 1:00 pm local time, the Prime Ministers of the seven countries handed over their instruments of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty to US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who accepted them on behalf of the United States, which is the depository nation for the Treaty. The ceremony took place in the Cash Room at the US Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. At that moment the seven countries formally became parties to the North Atlantic Treaty and members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This is the fifth and the largest round of enlargement in NATO’s history, bringing NATO to 26 member countries. The event was celebrated with a special ceremony hosted by United States President George W. Bush at the White House and attended by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. The accession of the seven new members will be marked by a special flag-raising ceremony at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on 2 April. It will be followed by an informal working luncheon of the Foreign Ministers of the now 26 member countries.