Albania reaffirms commitment to NATO

19/03/2015

Albania remains committed to the NATO Readiness Action Plan, which "ensures that the Alliance is ready to respond swiftly and firmly to new security challenges."

By Linda Karadaku for Southeast European Times in Pristina -- 19/03/15

The VJTF will be comprised of NATO Response Forces, and will consist primarily of a terrestrial component supplemented with air, sea and special forces. [AFP]

Albania's Ministry of Defence said the country continues to be engaged in the NATO Readiness Action Plan, and is focused on the two main pillars -- assurance and adoption measures -- which include "increased military presence and activity for assurance and deterrence" and "changes to the Alliance's long-term military posture and capabilities."
The Readiness Action Plan was approved at the NATO Wales Summit in September, "to ensure the Alliance is ready to respond swiftly and firmly to new security challenges." The plan provides measures to respond to changes in the security environment in and near Europe, challenges posed by Russia and threats coming from the Middle East and North Africa.
Last month, NATO and Albanian officials discussed the efforts to adapt to emerging hybrid challenges from the east and south. NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Sir Adrian Bradshaw and senior Albanian political and military officials also discussed the Alliance's plans to enhance and restructure the NATO Response Force (NRF) "into a division-sized force that can move at short notice in response to hybrid threats."
"NATO nations are resolute in their determination to respond to emerging security challenges, as evidenced by our ongoing and robust assurance measures, and our rapid establishment of an interim Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) capability," Bradshaw said.
The VJTF is envisioned to be a multinational brigade with around 5,000 troops and up to five manoeuvre battalions, supported by air, maritime and special forces.
"The Readiness Action Plan is the biggest reinforcement of our collective defence since the end of the Cold War. And it is my top priority to implement this plan in full and on time," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in November 2014.
"This plan has been in the focus of the last Summit of the Alliance in Wales, where the heads of the member states agreed to create [the VJTF], which would be capable of being deployed within a few days in response to the challenges that arise, especially on the periphery of NATO territory," Edlira Prendi, spokesperson for the Albanian Ministry of Defence, told SETimes.
The VJTF will be comprised of the NATO Response Forces, which are high-readiness forces, and will consist primarily of a terrestrial component supplemented with air, sea and special forces, she added.
Prendi explained that Albania contributes to the NRF with elements, units and capacities that change every year.
"This year, capacities of the military police have been declared, while for next year it will be the capacities of the ground forces. The willingness of the declared capacities is tested through military exercises organised by NATO. The [upcoming] exercise Trident Juncture 15 aims to test the capacities declared by the NATO member states for 2016. The exercise will take place in Spain and Portugal and the capacities declared by Albania will also attend," Prendi told SETimes.
Edith Harxhi, former Albanian deputy foreign minister and current executive director of the Albanian Policy Centre, said the government should maintain more resources for assisting the Alliance.
"An increase in the defence budget of the country needs to be reconsidered by the current government. At the latest NATO summit in Wales, the Alliance called on member states for more commitment -- both financially and physically -- to fight world terrorism and defy the Islamic State [of Iraq and the Levant] as a real threat that is trying to penetrate in Europe," Harxhi told SETimes.
General Sheme Kosova, former Chief of Staff of the Albanian Army, said the rapid changes in the global security environment present a need for NATO member countries, including Albania, to adapt.

"NATO and the Albanian Armed Forces should build policies and structures for the new war. The problems in Iraq, Syria, anywhere, need to be confronted because they are not simply war soldiers, but destructors of democracy," Kosova told SETimes.
Harxhi agreed, and said that Albania is united in its objectives to support the partners within NATO and prevent evil forces from killing innocent civilians in the name of religion.
"Albania, as a NATO member country with a Muslim majority population, has an extra duty not only to fight extremism in its cells but also to help and assist other countries in the Western Balkans to fight extremist groups that appeal to vulnerable people to join them in the name of God and wealth," Harxhi told SETimes.
What steps can Albania and the Western Balkan countries take to assist NATO with the Readiness Action Plan? Tell us your thoughts below.

This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.