Albanians proud, Croats cool on joining NATO

Croatia and Albania are the newest members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.  According to this article, Albania has shown much more enthusiasm with regard to its membership.  While Albanians are brimming with pride, Croatia still has its sights set on EU membership, which has been a goal for quite some time.  Albania, one of the poorest countries in Europe, views NATO membership as great progress.  For Croatia, however, there was very little excitement over its membership, as it will not do much for Croatia's EU membership.  While this may be the goal, the progress of NATO membership is a positive sign.  And the lack of excitement shows the progress Croats have come to expect, especially when compared to a poor country like Albania.  Hopefully, the talks with Slovenia will continue, and EU membership is somewhere on the horizon for Croatia.

- Matt Orminski (Croatia)