ALBANIA PRESENTS ITS ANNUAL NATIONAL PLAN AT NATO

C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000396

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2018
TAGS: PREL MARR NATO AL
SUBJECT: ALBANIA PRESENTS ITS ANNUAL NATIONAL PLAN AT NATO

Classified By: CDA Kate Byrnes. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: On October 17, a senior-level Albanian
delegation presented Tirana's 2008-2009 Annual National
Program to NATO'S Senior Political Committee. The
presentation drew praise from Allies. At the same time,
several delegations, led by the U.S., raised serious concerns
about perceived backsliding in the area of democratic
reforms, particularly regarding interference in the work of
the General Prosecutor. End Summary


2. (C) An Albanian delegation led by National Coordinator for
NATO Glori Husi, Deputy Minister of Justice Viktor Gumi, and
Ambassador Artur Kuko presented Tirana's 2008-2009 Annual
National Program to Allies meeting in the Senior Political
Committee. This presentation is expected to be Albania's
final Annual National Plan. Albania was invited to begin
accession talks with the Alliance at NATO's April 2008 Summit
and may formally join the Alliance at the upcoming April 2009
Summit.


3. (C) Husi thanked Hungary, the United States, Latvia and
Lithuania for their ratifications of accession protocols for
Albania,s membership in NATO. He highlighted Albania,s 20
place jump on the Transparency International index, from
105th to 85th, and underlined the IMF,s finding that Albania
ranked second in the world in business facilitation. Husi
emphasized the unity between the government and the
opposition on joining NATO, and pledged future contributions
to operations as well as continued reforms. In response to
questions from Allies, Husi praised the MAP process, saying
its review processes had given Albania a great boost in
implementing reforms and measuring up to key yardsticks.
Members of the delegation observed that real progress in
reforms had come through bilateral and multilateral help, as
well as regional cooperation. In this regard, he said the
Adriatic Charter had been a big plus. He also underlined
that the more recent rise in domestic political will and
internal coordination had boosted the process.


4. (C) A/DCM Reid, speaking as the representative of the
Contact Point Embassy, noted that on September 25 the United
States Senate had passed a resolution providing advice and
consent to ratification of the NATO accession protocols for
Albania. He thanked Albania for its participation in
Afghanistan and Iraq, noting that this showed Albania had
become a security provider and a reliable NATO partner. Reid
said the United States was glad to see that follow up to the
explosions at the munitions store at Gerdec was a major
priority for the government. He urged Albania to continue
its responsible efforts to eliminate its vast stockpile of
excess munitions in order to avoid another catastrophe.


5. (C) Reid cautioned that, though Albania had made progress
in democratic reform, it had more work to do, including
accelerating judicial and electoral reforms. He underlined
U.S. concern about the Government,s apparent recent attempts
to unduly interfere in the work of the Prosecutor General,s
Office. He strongly urged the Government to respect the
independence of all institutions and to promote full,
independent investigation of all corruption cases -- free
from outside intimidation or pressure.


6. (C) Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany
and Norway all echoed U.S. concerns on perceived challenges
to the further development of democracy in Albania. They each
challenged Albania to make the gains of recent years
irreversible. Germany further requested a letter of intent
from Albania stating that reforms would continue
post-accession to NATO. The Albanian delegation agreed to
provide one. France raised additional questions about air
policing and the UK focused on identity cards. The Albanians
responded that Tirana is in talks with Rome on air policing
and gave details of plans to roll out sufficient numbers of
identity cards before the next elections.


7. (C) In spite of these areas of concern, Allies were
uniformly positive in welcoming Albania into the Alliance.
Greece, Hungary, France, Slovenia, Romania, Turkey, Canada,
Italy, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Spain, the UK, Bulgaria,
Portugal, Germany, Belgium and Norway all took the floor to
make welcoming statements.


8. (U) An electronic copy of this Annual National Plan has
been forwarded to EUR/RPM.
BYRNES