On 1 March 2004 Latvia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sandra Kalniete, received a letter from NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer stating that all NATO member countries have notified the government of the United States of their acceptance of the Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of the Republic of Latvia and the six other candidate countries. The letter also extends an invitation to accede to the North Atlantic Treaty.
The Saeima (parliament) of the Republic of Latvia passed on 26 February 2004 the law on Latvia’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949. In order to take effect, the law has to be signed by the President of the Republic of Latvia and promulgated in the official newspaper of the government Latvijas vestnesis.
When the law On the North Atlantic Treaty takes effect, the Republic of Latvia will deposit this accession instrument with the US Government, and then become a full-fledged NATO member state. It is expected that Latvia will complete its accession procedure by the beginning of April.
