Albania and the NATO enlargement

TIRANA, Sep 15 – Last week U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on NATO enlargement, specifically on Albania and Croatia membership in the alliance after both countries got the invitation at the last summit in April.
The Senate committee reviewed the proposed candidacy of Albania and Croatia to join NATO, and the possible future addition of Macedonia, Ukraine and Georgia.
Following the Cold War, many of the East European nations that had been liberated from the former Soviet Union and communism found themselves uncertain and seeking a new direction, he said. They were not confident in their own democratic institutions.
Senator Christopher Dodd, who chaired the hearing, said that adding Albania and Croatia to the alliance will be a force for stability in the Balkans. “Our aim in this hearing is to determine whether both of these candidate countries have met the criteria for NATO membership,” he said.
Dodd said that in addition to the others, Macedonia is also awaiting membership as soon as a name dispute with Greece can be resolved. Fried said the United States continues to support Macedonia for membership, saying, “We believe a mutually acceptable solution is possible, in the interest of both countries and the region, and indeed urgent.”
“Albania, Croatia and Macedonia … have undertaken and implemented the sort of reforms we have sought in significant part because they want to get into NATO,” said Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried. “By providing general security to the Balkans, starting with the two aspirant nations whose accession the [Bush] administration is seeking the Senate’s advice and consent [on], we can consolidate general peace and security in the Balkans.”
NATO enlargement was foreseen in principle from the beginning of NATO’s existence with Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty. NATO brought in new members even during the Cold War: Turkey and Greece in 1952, West Germany in 1955, and Spain in 1982.
After the fall of the Iron Curtain and end of the Soviet Union, the purpose of defense against attack by Moscow seemed to recede. But NATO enlargement took on a more profound strategic aspect: for the then-raw and apprehensive new democracies that emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Bloc after the fall of communism, NATO, ahead of the EU, became the institutional expression of their desire to join with Europe and the transatlantic world. For the United States and other NATO members, NATO enlargement, along with EU enlargement, became the means by which the vision of a “Europe whole, free and at peace” started becoming reality.
Participants in the hearing said that they believed that NATO enlargement – along with EU enlargement – can do for the Balkans in this decade what it did for Central Europe in the previous decade.
Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia – whose admission into NATO has been delayed only because of a dispute with Greece over its name – have undertaken and implemented the sort of reforms we have sought in significant part because they want to get into NATO. By providing general security to the Balkans, starting with the two aspirant nations whose accession the Administration is seeking the Senate’s advice and consent, we can consolidate general peace and security in the Balkans.
On Albania they said that in the 17 years since Albania freed itself from one of the world’s most repressive communist dictatorships, Albania has made steady progress in creating stable, democratic institutions and a free market economy. The road has not always been easy; in 1997, Albania was shaken by a major financial scandal and domestic turmoil. But its desire for NATO membership has both shaped and motivated Albania’s progress.
Militarily, Albania is transitioning to a smaller, voluntary, professional military. It has put international assistance to good use by restructuring and strengthening its armed forces to the point where Albania has become a strong and reliable partner on NATO missions, with troops in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. The government is also working with international assistance to make Albania landmine-free by 2010.
Albania has also made significant progress in democratic reforms. It has more work to do, and we expect its reforms to continue. Albania must accelerate judicial reforms and stay on track with its electoral reforms. The fight against corruption must be total in order to show that no one is above the law. A zero-tolerance policy – particularly in public services such as tenders, taxes, licensing, and health care – must be backed up by systematic investigations and prosecutions. By putting more emphasis on the key roles of an independent prosecutor and judiciary, Albania can send a strong message of its determination to overcome past practices.
In summary, NATO’s invitation is a sign that Albania has made enormous steps forward. But it also has raised the bar, and more reform is still needed. Fortunately, the history of NATO enlargement in the past suggests that countries continue reforms rather than abandon them, when they join the alliance.