On March 5th, David L. Phillips of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, and a new senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, led a roundtable discussion at the Atlantic Council on Albania and its prospects for membership into NATO.

Phillip’s new report, “Albania: From Fragile State to Viable International Partner,” first released on February 19th in Tirana at a meeting of the Albanian Atlantic Council, argues that the country has proven its commitment to the necessary political, economic, and security sector reforms for NATO membership, and that there are important strategic reasons for admitting Albania to the Alliance.

This timely discussion took place on the eve of informal talks by NATO’s 26 Foreign Ministers in Brussels to set the state for possible decisions at the Bucharest Summit next month. The event was part of a series of initiatives the Atlantic Council has undertaken on the prospects of NATO membership for the Adriatic 3. On February 19th, the Atlantic Council hosted the defense ministers of Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia. In addition, Atlantic Council expert James Townsend testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee this week in support of NATO membership for the Adriatic 3.

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