NATO creates new status of "candidate for NATO membership" for Ukraine

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) plans to grant Ukraine, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina a new status of "candidates for NATO membership". This was reported by the NATO PA on 24 March.

The meeting of the Standing Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly was held in Tallinn on 23 and 24 March.

As part of the comprehensive reform of the Assembly's partnership adopted in Tallinn, the Standing Committee agreed to create a new status in the NATO PA for those countries seeking to join the Alliance and to officially designate Ukraine, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia, as NATO Candidates," the statement said.

In two other important decisions, the NATO Standing Committee decided to upgrade the status of the Assembly of Kosovo from parliamentary observer to associate member, and to grant associate membership to the Parliament of Malta.

Steps have also been initiated to enhance dialogue and cooperation with the NATO Alliance's southern neighbours and the Indo-Pacific region.

These changes to the partnership are to be ratified by the full Assembly at the 2024 Spring Session in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, at the end of May.