PM BERISHA DISCUSSES ALBANIA'S NATO ACCESSION

C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000043

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/30/2018
TAGS: PREL NATO MARR PGOV AL
SUBJECT: PM BERISHA DISCUSSES ALBANIA'S NATO ACCESSION
PROSPECTS WITH PERMREPS JANUARY 30

REF: A. NATO PO(2008)0011


B. STATE 8149

C. STATE 8781

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

SUMMARY
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1. (C) Prime Minister Berisha discussed Albania's prospects
for being invited to join NATO at the Bucharest Summit with
the NAC on January 30, concluding Albania's ninth MAP cycle.
The participation of opposition figures in his delegation, a
recent unanimous parliamentary motion of support for NATO
integration, and recent tangible progress on key reforms
favorably impressed PermReps. Berisha addressed the main
shortcomings identified in the MAP report by promising a new
law on the judiciary by the NATO Summit and a new civil
registry that would allow for accurate voter registration in
advance of Albania's next elections. He cited strong
economic figures, Albania's efforts to maintain stability in
the Balkans, and its contribution to NATO-led operations to
demonstrate the value it would bring to the Alliance.
Ambassador Nuland saluted Albania's rapid progress during the
last MAP cycle and emphasized the need to "keep your foot on
the gas" to close the remaining shortcomings. Berisha
responded to 21 interventions in turn, assuring NATO reps
that Albania would spare no effort to maintain regional
stability, continue to support NATO-led operations, and press
ahead with domestic reforms to the Bucharest Summit and
beyond. End Summary.

A MULTI-PARTY DELEGATION
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2. (C) Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha, accompanied by
Foreign Minister Lulzin Basha, Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu,
Parliamentary Integration Committee Chairman Ilir Meta, and
Deputy Speaker Ylli Bufi, met with NATO PermReps on January
30 to discuss Albania's Membership Action Plan (MAP) progress
report (REF). This discussion concluded Albania's ninth MAP
cycle and was Tirana's best opportunity to convince Allies of
its readiness to receive an invitation to joint the Alliance
at NATO's Bucharest Summit in April. The fact that Meta (a
former PM and FM) and Bufi represent opposition parties was
favorably noted by Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer,
Ambassador Nuland, and many other PermReps.

PM BERISHA: GOOD PROGRESS TO REPORT
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3. (C) Berisha stressed that Albania's accelerated push for
reform during the shortened, eight-month MAP cycle was
irreversible and sustainable. Berisha reported recent
progress in addressing electoral and judicial reforms ) the
areas the MAP progress report had identified as Albania's
primary weaknesses ) and added that multi-party
parliamentary committees were continuing to work these issues
with the shared goal of meeting NATO's performance-based
criteria for membership by Bucharest. He said that 70
percent of the necessary judicial legislation had been
adopted and that electoral reforms recommended by the OSCE
and OKIHR were systematically being addressed. Berisha cited
six percent annual growth, 87 percent increase in foreign
direct investment over the last year, and the imposition of a
flat 10 percent tax to demonstrate that a sound, free-market
economy underlies Albania's democratic and security
institutions. He also drew on statistics to show tangible
progress in the fight against corruption.

A SECURITY PROVIDER
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4. (C) On security issues, Berisha said that President Topi
had stressed during his recent trip to Pristina the need for
all sides to remain calm and act with moderation. He also
emphasized the need to safeguard the Serbian minority in
Kosovo. To underscore Albania's role as a security provider
beyond the Balkans, Berisha announced plans to build up its
ISAF contribution by standing up Operational Mentoring and
Liaison Teams (OMLTs) and to support Operation Active
Endeavor (OAE) in the Mediterranean. Berisha noted that 2.1
percent of GDP is allocated to the defense budget in 2008 and
the Albanian Armed Forces will be fully professional by 2010.
Finally, he summarized other wide-ranging reforms of the
armed forces, an area of strength recognized in the MAP
report.

AMBASSADOR NULAND: PEDAL TO THE METAL
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5. (C) Since the U.S. holds responsibility for NATO's Contact
Point Embassy (CPE) in Tirana, Ambassador Nuland opened

Allied interventions by stating that the U.S. was pleased
with Albania's rapid progress toward MAP standards. It had
proven itself a good mentor to Kosovo and a security exporter
to Afghanistan and Iraq. She stated that each aspirant
nation would be judged on its own merits at Bucharest, and
that President Bush wanted the largest performance-based
enlargement possible at the Bucharest Summit. She urged
Berisha to "keep your foot on the gas" to fulfill judicial
and electoral reform targets.

MAKING FRIENDS AND INFLUENCING PERMREPS
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6. (C) Twenty more PermReps spoke, most acknowledging the
unanimous support of Albania's parliament and 90 percent of
its people for NATO accession, Tirana's contributions to
NATO-led operations, and its solid record of defense reform.
The most vocally supportive were Turkey, Poland, Italy,
Romania, Portugal, and the three Baltic Allies. France was
also surprisingly positive, with Ambassador Duque confessing
that he had been favorably impressed during a visit to
Tirana, voicing support for Albania's aspirations, and hoping
for a favorable outcome at Bucharest. Many other Ambassadors
also expressed appreciation for having been hosted in Tirana
by the GOA.

REMAINING JUDICIAL AND ELECTORAL HURDLES
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7. (C) At the same time, every intervention pointed to the
need for Albania to finalize legislation on judicial reform
and to implement the electoral reforms that had been set in
motion. Most also cited the need to accelerate the fight
against corruption, organized crime, and trafficking. The
UK, Czech Republic, Greece, and Bulgaria stressed the
imperative of achieving more tangible results by Bucharest )
"much more needs to be done," in the words of British
Ambassador Eldon. On electoral reform, Eldon cited the need
to address the so-called &Dushk8 effect (which derives its
name from an Albanian village),by which major parties divert
votes in specific constituencies to junior partners in order
to maximize their results. As the MAP report states, the
Dushk effect "distorts the will of the electors and creates a
system of dependency for the smaller parties, since the
goodwill of a larger party is crucial to get seats in
Parliament." Greece emphasized the need for further legal,
administrative, and banking sector reforms to encourage
foreign investment. Both Greece and Bulgaria called for
respecting minority education and property rights. (One of
our Albanian counterparts commented to us afterward that
their interventions appeared to be coordinated.)

POINT-BY-POINT RESPONSES
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8. (C) Berisha responded to each Ambassador in turn, starting
by saluting the role of U.S. Embassy Tirana as NATO's CPE.
On the common themes of judicial and electoral shortcomings,
he promised passage of a comprehensive law on the judiciary
by the Bucharest Summit at the beginning of April. Doing it
systematically, he emphasized, took time, and demonstrated
Albania's commitment to sustainable reforms. On electoral
reform, he reported that Parliamentary committees were
reviewing various European models, and that the basis for a
sound voter registration system was being laid with an
all-new national civil registry database that would be
completed in July. He assured NATO reps that Albania would
spare no effort to maintain peace in the region, particularly
preventing any spillover of unrest in Kosovo. On cooperation
among parties, he pointed out that Albania's decentralization
process was in effect ceding authority from the ruling
Democratic Party in the central government to more
opposition-led local governments. He pointed to minorities,
including Greek Albanians, in government positions. Finally,
to impress Allies with Albania's unity of purpose, FM Basha
turned over his chair to Meta to re-affirm the opposition's
support for meeting the goals to merit membership in NATO.
The SecGen closed the meeting by observing that "if you rest
on your laurels, you are wearing them in the wrong place."
NULAND