NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (C), Albanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Lulzim Basha (L) and his Croatian counterpart Gordan Jandrokovic (R) sign on accession protocols at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, July 9, 2008. NATO member states signed on Wednesday here accession protocols for Albania and Croatia, a key step toward formal membership of the two countries in the alliance. [Xinhua]