Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06USNATO603
2006-10-13 13:16:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Mission USNATO
Cable title:  

NATO'S POSITIVE REACTION TO MACEDONIA'S ANNUAL

Tags:  MOPS NATO PARM PGOV PREL MK 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0017
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNO #0603/01 2861316
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 131316Z OCT 06
FM USMISSION USNATO
TO RUEHXP/ALL NATO POST COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHSQ/AMEMBASSY SKOPJE PRIORITY 3264
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0105
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USJFCOM NORFOLK VA
RHMFISS/USNMR SHAPE BE
RUEHNO/USDELMC BRUSSELS BE
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000603 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/RPM, EUR/SCE, PM
OSD FOR USDP - - WINTERNITZ/GRAFF
NSC FOR AINSLEY/SCHWENDLER
JOINT STAFF FOR J-5/EUROPE AND NATO POLICY - - FOSTER
USEUCOM FOR ECJ-5/E

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/13/2016
TAGS: MOPS NATO PARM PGOV PREL MK
SUBJECT: NATO'S POSITIVE REACTION TO MACEDONIA'S ANNUAL
NATIONAL PROGRAM

REF: SECSTATE 168277

Classified By: DCM Richard G. Olson for reasons 1.4(b)/(d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000603

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/RPM, EUR/SCE, PM
OSD FOR USDP - - WINTERNITZ/GRAFF
NSC FOR AINSLEY/SCHWENDLER
JOINT STAFF FOR J-5/EUROPE AND NATO POLICY - - FOSTER
USEUCOM FOR ECJ-5/E

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/13/2016
TAGS: MOPS NATO PARM PGOV PREL MK
SUBJECT: NATO'S POSITIVE REACTION TO MACEDONIA'S ANNUAL
NATIONAL PROGRAM

REF: SECSTATE 168277

Classified By: DCM Richard G. Olson for reasons 1.4(b)/(d)


1. (C) SUMMARY. The NATO Senior Political
Committee/Reinforced (SPC/R) met with a Macedonian (MK)
delegation on October 6 to discuss the way ahead for
Macedonia's eighth Membership Action Plan (MAP) cycle. The
Macedonian delegation presented details of their Annual
National Program (ANP) for 2006-2007, highlighting the
success of their most recent elections and emphasizing the
will of the new government to continue the successes of the
previous administration in the areas of regional cooperation,
contributions to NATO operations, and critical domestic
reforms. MK asked that a clear message of encouragement and
timeframe for membership be offered to each individual NATO
aspirant in the communique of the November 2006 NATO Summit
at Riga. The overall atmosphere of the session was positive
with the majority of NATO Allies praising Macedonia's ANP,
the high level of public support for NATO membership in
Macedonia, its stabilizing regional role, its operational
military involvement outside the region, as well as its
defense reforms. Concerns expressed focused on judicial and
police reforms, organized crime, corruption and equitable
ethnic representation in the military. Allies gave various
responses regarding the Riga communique, with some advocating
no timeline and emphasizing a performance-based decision and
others calling for a timeline and roadmap. END SUMMARY.

MACEDONIAN PRESENTATION
- - - - - - - - - - - -


2. (C) A Macedonian delegation led by Ambassador Nikola
Dmitrov, National Coordinator for NATO Integration, and
augmented by Mrs. Ljiljana Sterijovska, State Secretary, MOD,
presented Macedonia's 2006-2007 ANP to the NATO SPC/R on
October 6. Ambassador Dmitrov stated that Macedonia had

proven its political maturity through this summer's
parliamentary elections. Though sporadic disruptive
incidents took place, Macedonia was addressing them through
the rule of law with 13 criminal indictments filed. Dmitrov
said the new MK government sought to continue past successes
by generating stability at home and abroad. The government
would strengthen multi-ethnic relations using the pillars of
equitable representation and decentralization. Macedonia
would continue to take part in all regional initiatives,
particularly those with the Adriatic-3 (Albania, Croatia and
Macedonia),and would continue to contribute beyond the
region with MK's participation in ISAF in Afghanistan (Joint
Med Team, HQ SEEBRIG, etc.). Dmitrov informed the committee
that Macedonia's new MOD is considering revising (reducing or
withdrawing) the caveats for its troops in ISAF.


3. (C) On domestic issues, Dmitrov specifically focused on
judicial reform, the economy and the Law on Police. He
stated that new legislation on judicial reform was already
producing improvement, with the backlog of cases slowly
decreasing. The economy, he said, was not progressing well
so the government would be focusing on reviving growth and
attracting investors. The Law on Police was important not
only for the domestic agenda, but also for the nation's NATO
aspirations. The draft law was currently in Parliament and
the subject of heated debate. Dmitrov predicted the law
would be adopted by the end of October. Regarding NATO's
upcoming November Summit in Riga, Dmitrov said the communique
should include a segment on the individual progress of each
candidate country, an announcement that 2008 would be an
"enlargement year," and a timeframe for issuing membership
invitations.


4. (C) Sterijovska spoke on behalf of the MOD, stating that
defense reforms were in the final stages of implementation.
She highlighted progress in achieving greater equitable
ethnic representation in the Armed Forces, the adoption of
the Defense and Military Service Laws (ensuring the
professionalization of the military),and advances in
training (both in the Officer and NCO Corps). She noted that

the professionalization of the Macedonian Armed Forces (ARM)
would be completed a year earlier than planned.

ALLIED REACTION



5. (C) The overall atmosphere of the session was positive
with interventions from 17 Allies. The majority of NATO
nations expressed their support for Macedonia's NATO
aspirations and emphasized that membership is
performance-driven. Comments concerning the Annual National
Program were also encouraging, although Romania noted it
would have preferred more information on areas where MK still
needs assistance. Slovenia stated it saw significant
progress from MK's 2005-2006 ANP.

POLITICAL ISSUES



6. (C) Praise came from around the table on Macedonia's
continued high level of public support for NATO membership
(close to 90 percent). The Netherlands and Hungary stressed
the importance of the new government continuing the reform
efforts of the previous administration. Macedonia was also
encouraged by Allies (UK, GR, IC, NL, US) to pass the Law on
Police, as well as to persist in reforms in the areas of
judiciary, organized crime and corruption and strengthening
the rule of law (GR, RO, IC, NL, US). Positive comments were
shared with MK regarding their contributions to stability in
the Balkans region (RO, FR, NO, HU, SP, PL).

RIGA LANGUAGE



7. (C) Allied comments regarding enlargement language for
the Riga communique were diverse. The U.S. said that
decisions on membership invitations should be based on
performance and not by any timeline. Germany stated that MK
could expect to get a positive signal, but that an invitation
was performance, not event, driven. Both Bulgaria and
Hungary said NATO needed to go beyond repeating "the door is
open" and provide the aspirants a clear message which
included individual assessments. Norway was the most
far-reaching of the group, stating they would like to see a
concrete timeline with a roadmap provided to the MAP nations,
though they also said that performance remains the key.

DEFENSE ISSUES



8. (C) The majority of Allies noted Macedonia's outstanding
progress in defense reforms. Norway and Poland praised the
realism in Macedonia's defense planning while Slovenia stated
that MK's firm defense plans showed their commitment to
further progress. Other comments from Allies emphasized
Skopje's role as a security provider and acknowledged the ARM
was headed towards becoming a much leaner force. All NATO
nations thanked Macedonia for their contribution to
operations, acknowledging that ARM forces were becoming more
interoperable with NATO forces. MK's efforts to achieve
equitable ethnic representation in the MOD and Army were also
addressed with some Allies reinforcing the importance of
these efforts (US, GM and FR) and others noting they were
making good progress (TU, UK, PL). Both France and Germany
emphasized that the issue of equality for minorities needed
to be implemented across the entire public sector at all
levels, not just in the military.

MACEDONIA RESPONDS



9. (C) Ambassador Dmitrov stated that all efforts would be
made during the next elections to prevent the repetition of
any disruptive incidents. He noted, however, that the
incidents which occurred during the July 2006 elections were
very isolated events and as such would be difficult to
completely prevent in the future. The Ambassador spoke to

the current political situation in the country, noting that
even though the PM made great efforts to include the two
largest ethnic Albanian political parties in the government,
even intense negotiations failed at first due to a high level
of animosity between the parties. Only now, after much
effort, is progress being made and Dmitrov believed politics
would no longer delay governmental progress. The Ambassador
went on to say that NATO membership had become so important
to MK's leadership that the PM had appointed a National NATO
Coordinator, reporting directly to the PM on all NATO
matters. On the defense side, Sterijovska addressed Air
Sovereignty and noted the MoD has developed a three-phased
plan, with the first phase (already funded) being the
establishment of an Air Surveillance Operations Center to
provide a shared radar picture with the region and NATO. The
second and third phases, procuring modern radars and
establishing an air policing capability, had not yet been
funded. In response to a question concerning military units
being declared for both NATO and EU use, Sterijovska stated
that most units belong to the same pool of forces.
Therefore, if participation was required for both
organizations, a political decision would determine where to
deploy the units.


















NULAND