In an interview with Albanian Free Press, General Piro Ahmetaj, current advisor of the President of Republic on issues of national security, offered his thoughts on this concern which he considers as a “normal concern”. Is Albania entirely protected being a NATO member? Are we doing our “homework” in order to protect our territory and borders or must we wait for our allies to do this?
Interviewed for Albanian Free Press by Alket Aliu
Albania has been a NATO member since 2009. Let us make a short introduction: What does the Northern Atlantic Organization represent?
Beyond populist perceptions, in order to understand the obligations, we must underline that NATO is not an “alien machine” or a charity structure, but an organization where political and military power is generated through the synergy of 29 countries. In the last NATO summit, there was a lot of talk about the Balkans. The heads of 29 countries addressed their points of view on the threats of a new security environment, the strong approach against the status quo articulated by President Trump, Brexit, breaches in the space of the “frontline allies” (Norway/Finland, Poland, 3 Baltic countries, Turkey), new Russia’s approach/political ambitions, the return of MIGs in the Balkans, the critical need to boost capacities and the necessity to improve budget, etc.
We have also had MIG planes. Was the communist legacy that “all the people should be soldiers” a valid one for the NATO accession?
On the contrary. We inherited a country which was in ruins and extremely poor. There were 1000 military commands, 300 thousand bunkers, 115 thousand active forces and 500 thousand reservists, an air fleet with over 100 MIG aircrafts and more than 120 war ships, including 4 submarines, etc! All of this insanity which aimed at fighting against two super powers, consumed 25% of the annual GDP of the poorest country in Europe.
What were the benefits that we had in the NATO accession process and after it?
Before the accession (1994-2008), after receiving the invitation (2008-2009) and after the accession (April 2009-September 2013), Albania successfully finalized reforms which concerned five critical domains of the state: political, economic, military, legal and information. Based on these reforms, the country was also granted the EU candidate membership and the liberalization of the visa regime, which we deserved. In this journey, Albania increased the quantity and quality of contributions in the international operations.
The defence budget was increased to 2% of GDP, 25% of which was allocated for major projects of modernization, such as: observation of maritime spaces, patrol ships, helicopters, Special Forces, uniforms, High Security Course, Center for Political Studies, digitalization of the personnel data, the exemplary project of the dismantlement of the ammunition of the communist regime period, museum and image of Armed Forces, the signing of tens of agreements of understanding for Special Forces, Intelligence, Paris Protocol/SOFA, exchange of classified information, etc.
It’s quite normal for many people to ask a question: To what extent and how does NATO protect Albania?
There’s no doubt and I can confirm that the entire territorial security of the Republic of Albania is guaranteed under article 5 of the Alliance. Albanians know that under article 5, in the absence of national capacities, the national space is protected by NATO, under an agreement. This is not a success story, because in the absence of capacities, we have delegated, trusted and sold, if you like, the protection of sovereignty and this mission is carried out by two NATO member countries.
Also, all relevant players must develop their capacities in order to address asymmetrical threats: terrorism, cyber threats, civil conflicts, civil emergencies, refugee crisis, etc, which, I’d like to stress that in no case they are a responsibility of the Alliance, but a national responsibility of each country.
This clearly means that Albania has its own obligations in the domain of security and that not everything is in the hands of the allies?
Yes, of course. There are certain things that we must do on our own and we cannot wait for NATO soldiers to come and protect us from some types of threats. If the situation becomes critical, we can certainly seek help, but Albania must make the first confrontation with several types of threats or challenges.
Can you give us an example?
It is the national responsibility of each NATO member to guarantee the security of its airports, ports and other infrastructures which may be subjected to threats and which have a strategic impact.
You want an example? I will mention the example of the Rinas international airport, the security of which is an exclusive responsibility of the state and cannot be delegated to a private company. I repeat, it’s the responsibility of the state.
As far as the threats and challenges are concerned, what should we do to improve the security system and national protection?
The security environment changes in an unpredicted way. Even NATO and defence reforms are in constant transformation. Accession must not be seen as the final stop, but as a recycling of the first phase, with extra obligations and responsibilities.
In my professional opinion, like all NATO countries, it’s urgent that Albania conducts a full reform of the security system and national defence in order to develop the necessary capacities, in line with article 5 of the Alliance.
There’s a need to rebalance the three powers, by overcoming any confusion that may exist. There’s a need for legislation improvement, improvement of the structures, there’s a need for integrated engagement rules in all the chains of the Armed Forces command and other national agencies. It’s necessary to increase defense spending by 1.3% in 2018 and 0.2% each year, in order for spending to reach 2% of GDP in 2024.
General, in several articles that I’ve read, I have also read your opinions on issues of security concerning Kosovo. While there’s a lot of talk on national security, you have also mentioned another term: Pan-national security…
As far as the joint project with Kosovo is concerned, I think that all the geo-political circumstances which are needed for our two countries to prepare a (pan) national long-term project in the domain of security and defence, are already in place. This model of partnership must also be consulted with strategic partners based on the experience of Baltic or Nordic countries (Norway, Finland, Sweden), Slovenia and Hungary, etc, without mentioning countries which I think exceed the obligation of confidentiality.
This project and this approach not only doesn’t threaten any countries, on the contrary, it aims at developing capacities concerning the security and the stability of the region. So, this project must be open and must involve all the countries of the region (Serbia included), in order to face joint regional challenges of the fight against terrorism, organized crime, illicit traffics, etc, in order to deliver the obligations of the EU and NATO security policies.
In other words, strategic partnership must be institutionalized by being associated with capacity building projects, mainly in the domains of civil emergencies, education, joint drills, participation in national and international missions, joint procurements, when it’s necessary, standardization and doctrines, regional study capacities and in the long term, projects for the observation of air space, renegade situations and joint project for air policing with other countries of the region.
