The last part of the publication presents a study on the "Costs of Albania's NATO membership", prepared by Prof. It is worth noting that they have continuously contributed to strengthening regional security.
COSTS AND BENEFITS OF NATO
MEMBERSHIP: CHALLENGES FOR ALBANIA
Summary of discussions
This process will be finalized with the fulfillment of the objective of having a totally professional Armed Force". Currently, Albania is participating in various operations with about 50% of the troops in the framework of NATO.
Recommendations of the Working Group: Albanian challenges for NATO membership
The absence of broad engagement in informed debate, particularly on the less appreciated aspects of the NATO membership process – the cost of membership, has the side effect of offering no ideas and no real concerns about what NATO membership actually means. The Albanian public's support for NATO membership has so far been maximal (over 90% of the Albanian public and the entire political spectrum of the country). Most NATO member states consider NATO integration not only as a prerequisite, but also as an important attempt at EU integration, due to the common principles of both organizations and the complementary synergies that both demonstrate.
Furthermore, the army's modernization process is necessary to meet the standards required for NATO membership. In order to achieve these goals, it is necessary to implement a national program out of the Armed Forces' budgeting program. Due to the complexity of the reforms, it is not only the military that must successfully comply with all obligations.
The necessary reforms cannot be carried out by the will of the government alone; necessarily require the engagement of other actors.
COSTS AND BENEFITS OF NATO
MEMBERSHIP: REGIONAL CHALLENGES
Summary of discussions
Serbian industry is one of the main suppliers of weapons to the new Iraqi government. One of the main reasons why the Serbian government has not been able to arrest Mladic until now is the support given by the military lobby. From this point of view, the NATO membership blockade could not have come at a worse time for Macedonia, both in terms of the country's internal context and the regional background.
Ordanovski again emphasized the implications of the veto on its membership for the costs and benefits of NATO's future expansions in the region and beyond. Ylber Hysa, former member of the Kosovo Parliament, argued for Kosovo's point of view on the results of the Bucharest Summit and the process of NATO membership. The decisions of the Bucharest summit have irreversible consequences for the region and, above all, on the adaptation of the belief that "democracies do not attack each other" - said Dr.
As one of the consequences of this denial is the postponement of the Kosovo issue.
Recommendations of the Working Group: Regional challenges for NATO integration
Therefore, we should not focus too much on time, but have concrete ideas and elaborate and high-quality actions related to integration processes. As a result, this disproportion should be understood as an indication of a great lack of information about the two institutions among the Montenegrin public. Therefore, it is essential to inform the public about the importance of NATO integration as an indispensable stage for EU membership.
A strategy pursued by the regional countries independently of NATO would probably not have been appropriate, given the lack of specialized and technical assistance, information, intelligence, infrastructure and training currently provided in the context of partnership. Deepening and strengthening regional cooperation is not only one of the key conditions for accession to NATO and the EU, but is vital for the entire region and its countries. The Croatian case provides clear evidence that a comprehensive debate increases public support for NATO membership, which is indispensable for the integration processes.
Therefore, not only regional governments, but also NATO structures must encourage a more active role of independent think tanks within the framework of the regional initiatives, especially in the matter of very sensitive topics such as evaluation and support for reforms, analysis of risks that are endanger regional security, the strengthening of regional cooperation, etc.
COSTS OF ALBANIA’S NATO MEMBERSHIP
Due to the multifaceted nature of the stakeholders involved, the outcome of this study should be the subject of dialogue and consultation as well as through support for common cross-sectoral strategies. Seventh, aspects about integration costs could be seen within a narrow focus (only limited to the defense area), but even on a wider spectrum from the perspective of the economy and costs that the country's stakeholders have to pay. The latter seems to be more logical). From the studies carried out, it appears that there are series of reports on the integration of new members from the RAND Corporation, the Budget Office of the American Congress, the US Department of State, as well as reports from the member states.
77% of the respondents believe that the process must be accompanied by. costs for the country, whereas 6.4% have answered negatively predicts that the expenditure on defense in the budget amounts to 2+/-1%. Over 90% of those questioned are of the opinion that our country is lacking. the appropriate financial, material and managerial capacity to cope with natural disasters, acts of terrorism or any other potential invasion. 70% of respondents confirm that there is media coverage related to NATO membership, but still 80% of all interviewees express an interest in learning more).
In most cases, both the media and politicians and governors are much more interested in detailing their successful NATO meetings, neglecting the economic calculus aspects of the process.
Cost relation to measures and defense budget Direct military costs
At the time of admission to the Alliance, member states must fulfill these obligations in the form of a Commitment Paper, in which deadlines for completing reforms are included. They must prepare national annual programs in which plans for reforms are drawn up in five chapters: Political and economic issues, defense issues, security issues and finally legal issues. Therefore, the discussions about this process must be publicized and developed in a transparent, professional manner by the entire spectrum of Albanian society.
Sources of Financing I. State Budget
When implementing the principles of joint financing and cost sharing, the member countries determine their financial resources to function in the Alliance (facilities on consultations, decision-making, implementation of programs, etc.). Member countries of NATO contribute to their national budget in the Alliance's activities in several ways, among which the most important is to make their own armed forces available to NATO. In this item, you must include expenses and salaries, other benefits for this staff comparable to levels in other countries, qualification and specialization of staff related to STANANG, together with the costs of preparing back-.
The size of the budget for member states is determined proportionally, based on the size of the individual country's economy in relation to other countries, based on the technical and legal security resources provided by the country, and the contribution of each new member to the total NATO budget. The defense budget, through eight defense programs, will provide the necessary reforms to restructure, modernize the armed forces together with systems, techniques and major interoperable equipment with NATO structures. We believe that there is a need for a budgetary analysis of the expenditure freed up by the downsizing of the military, which could lead to a long-term period of operational cost reductions that should be used effectively. to meet the objectives of the interoperations.
Likewise, another interesting area of research could be the revival and establishment of an industry in the defense sector by making use of the specific needs that the Alliance would manifest as well as the competitive advantages that our country would offer from the low cost point of view of the workforce, geographic location, etc. All the costs for infrastructure improvements and services of the type "Support by the host country", which must be modeled according to Alliance standards, will be covered by our country, with the exception of cases where these objects represent strategic interests for the Alliance and the latter invests from the joint funding. For many of the investments, there is a possibility of financing distribution according to regional agreements with the neighboring countries, NATO members.
State Budget
Foreign Financing
Another cost would be the lack of public support for the ruler as a result of commitments for our troops in dangerous zones of the world within the framework of NATO missions. Despite the good programs of the government and advocates of promises, we can state that this has already been a lost battle for all governments. Precisely to tackle concrete and serious measures in the sectors of tax administration, customs, public administration, better border control, in the legal system, the rule of law, etc.
The impact of implemented reforms is of value to the entire economy, despite the fact of NATO integration or not. Furthermore, they must provide opportunities for greater approximation to the EU, as many of the criteria and principles for membership, especially in the political area, are common and complementary to each other by creating synergy. Experiences from Poland, Bulgaria, etc. larger countries and with technical, financial capacities several times greater than ours) indicate that their independent plans for transformation and modernization of the army could hardly be achieved individually without NATO assistance.
Normally, even under a scenario for country analysis, costs for transformation of the defense sector should be deducted from NATO expenditures, since they would necessarily be carried out even without expectations for membership of the Alliance.
ANNEX: TABLE ON THE MEASURABLE COSTS OF THE PROCESS
Integrated system of state control - SIVK, unified system for receiving, processing and exchanging information). a) Sea-Space Integrated System USD 18 billion, starts 2007, ends 2009. Euro, Dutch government covers about ⅓ of the cost. . completion of the project in 2011 .. d) armored personnel carriers - procurement of approx. 40.
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