MADRID – The Congress of Deputies (the lower house) of the Kingdom of Spain’s Parliament ratified Montenegro’s NATO Accession Protocol on Thursday, the Spanish government said, CdM reports.
“In order for the ratification procedure to be completed, the document shall be adopted in the Senate (the upper house). The government sent the draft law to the relevant committees at the end of December 2016,” the government explained.
According to the Spanish newspaper ABC, 267 deputies – the representatives of the People’s Party, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party and citizens’ group – supported Montenegro’s membership in NATO.
On the other hand, 69 deputies from the coalition “Together, we can” (includes left parties) were against, whereas nine of them abstained.
The Spanish Congress announced that it was good that the vast majority supported the cause, given the importance of this issue, both for the Montenegro and the alliance.
According to ABC, Spain has contributed that Montenegro officially becomes the 29th member state in May.
Only the USA and the Netherlands have left to ratify the protocol.