Key Benefits:
The President of the Republic,
On the report of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Having regard to Articles 52 to 55 of the Constitution;
Given the Law No. 98-477 of 17 June 1998 authorising the ratification of the Protocol to the Treaty of the North Atlantic on the accession of the Czech Republic to Brussels on 16 December 1997;
In view of Decree No. 49-1271 of 4 September 1949 on the publication of the Treaty From the North Atlantic, signed in Washington on 4 April 1949;
In view of the amended Decree No. 53-192 of 14 March 1953 on the ratification and publication of international commitments undertaken by France,
Décrète:
Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of the Czech Republic, done in Brussels on 16 December 1997, will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
The Prime Minister and the Minister of Business Shall each be responsible for the execution of this Decree, which shall be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
P R O T O C O L E
TO THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY
ON THE ACCESSION OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC
The Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty, signed on 4 April 1949 in Washington,
Provided that the accession of the Czech Republic to the North Atlantic Treaty will increase the security of the North Atlantic region,
agree as follows:
Article 1
From The entry into force of this Protocol, the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization shall send, on behalf of all the Parties, an invitation to the Government of the Czech Republic to accede to the North Atlantic Treaty. In accordance with Article 10 of the Treaty, the Czech Republic will become a Party to this Treaty on the date of the deposit of its instrument of accession with the Government of the United States of America.
Article 2
This Protocol shall enter into force when all Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty have notified their approval to the Government of the United States of America. The Government of the United States of America shall inform all Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty of the date of receipt of each of those notifications and of the date of entry into force of this Protocol.
Article 3
This Protocol, whose texts in English and French are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the United States of America. Certified true copies will be transmitted by it to the Governments of all other Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty.
In witness whereof, the Plenipotentiaries designated below have signed this Protocol
Brussels, 16 December 1997.
Done at Paris, December 31, 2003.
Jacques Chirac
By the President of the Republic:
The Prime Minister,
Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Foreign Minister,
Dominique de Villepin