Richard BENYON (United Kingdom)
06 September 2017
The Western Balkans remains an area of special concern for NATO, which first engaged militarily in the region during the early stages of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 and later during the Kosovo conflict. There has been a sustained effort to the support the government of the regions to consolidate fragile democracies and build market economies capable of flourishing in a European and global framework. But over the past 15 years, the countries of the Western Balkans have undergone a very difficult and, in several cases, only partial transition from socialist toward market economies and from authoritarian toward more plural governance systems. They have done so under exceedingly difficult conditions characterized by political, ethnic and sectarian tensions and war, redrawn borders, the emergence of new states and new institutions, and persistent problems of poor governance, political instability, opportunist interventions by outside powers, and widespread corruption. Both the European Union and NATO, their member countries, as well as a host of other international actors have played roles in supporting peace and stability in the region, including backing for post-conflict development, economic transition and extending the promise, not yet fully consummated, of integration in Euro-Atlantic structures.
The report suggests that the global financial crisis, Europe’s current identity crisis and uncertainties about U.S. foreign policy priorities have all contributed to a dangerous political vacuum and economic uncertainty in the Western Balkans. This has not only set back economic growth and development, but has also slowed much needed economic and political reform Economic crisis also seems to have opened the door for anti-EU populist and nationalist movements to challenge both difficult reforms and, in some cases, the very notion of advancing toward EU and NATO membership. This uncertainty has created a fertile environment for those opposed to Western integration including outside actors like Russia. The report surveys the situation in several Western Balkan countries and concludes that both the EU and the United States need to refocus on the region to demonstrate that the Euro-Atlantic option is both real and beneficial.
In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced perhaps the most ambitious investment and infrastructure programme ever conceived. The ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) has since become the boldest expression yet of China’s global economic, diplomatic, and strategic…
Committee ReportsThe Black Sea region is at once alive with economic potential and imperilled by division, rivalry and conflict ¬¬¬– all with implications for the international system as a whole. It is an area united by an important waterway that links the littoral countries and…
Committee ReportsThe Gulf, like other parts of the Middle East, is both a source of friction and cooperation between Europe and the United States. This reflects both convergent and divergent interests in the region, but it is also emblematic of more enduring changes underway in the…
Committee ReportsThe contemporary global liberal order, established in the aftermath of World War II, and the values of individual liberty, democracy, human rights and rule of law that underpin it have formed the foundation of the Alliance since its creation. Using its expanding…
Committee ReportsThe global community is currently undergoing the most consequential pandemic since the outbreak of Spanish influenza in 1918-19. Pandemics, however, are not as rare as many have thought. Indeed, there have been four major pandemics over the last 120 years when flu…
Committee ReportsObtaining insights in Africa’s security dynamics related to the evolving security landscape in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region was the main focus of a NATO PA visit to Addis Ababa from 23 to 25 September 2019. The current state of cooperation between…
Mission ReportsThis ESCTER report was adopted on Saturday 12 October 2019 by the Economic and Security Committee at the 65th Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in London, United Kingdom.
… Committee Reports
This ESCTD report was adopted on Saturday 12 October 2019 by the Economic and Security Committee at the 65th Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in London, United Kingdom.
… Committee Reports
Azerbaijan has emerged as a key strategic partner for Europe. The much-anticipated completion of the Southern Gas Corridor in 2020 will mark a major step in diversifying the energy supply base of southern Europe. That project will bring significant quantities of gas from Azerbaijan’s massive…
Mission ReportsCommittee Reports
The report focuses on the rapidly shifting parameters of global space markets. These were once dominated by large countries with important military and scientific space programmes. Commercial market players today, however, are no longer supplying governments with…
Committee ReportsThe unprecedented growth of the world economy over the last sixty years has been premised on liberal market reform and free trade. Worryingly, in recent years, there has been a backlash against free trade, and this has emerged as a common theme among populist political…
Committee Reports97th ROSE-ROTH SEMINAR REPORT
Batumi, Georgia
23-25 April 2018
The space realm is evolving rapidly, and as it does, new commercial vistas are opening up that will transform the global economy. France has emerged as a leading player in space and is a driving force in Europe’s collective quest both to derive benefits from these…
Mission ReportsEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. Japan will support the efforts by US President Donald Trump to negotiate a denuclearisation of North Korea but will continue to pursue a cautious approach toward the regime of the Democratic People’s Republic of…
96th ROSE-ROTH SEMINAR
SUB-COMMITTEE ON TRANSITION AND DEVELOPMENT (ESCTD)
LJUBLJANA,…
Rose-Roth Seminar Reports (SEM)Special Report of the Defence and Security Committee [164 DSC 17 E bis]
In his February 9, 2017 testimony before the United States Congress, General John W. Nicholson, Jr., Commander of Resolute Support Mission (RSM) and of US Forces in Afghanistan (USFOR-A), told…
Report Title: Tackling the Challenges from the South
Rapporteur: Julio MIRANDA CALHA (Portugal)
Year: 2017
Violent conflict and instability, particularly in Syria and Iraq, continue to destabilise the Middle East and North Africa (…
Report Title: Social Media Revolution: Political and Security Implications
Rapporteur: Jane CORDY (Canada)
Year: 2017
The rise of social media is one of the most recent and far-reaching manifestations of the digital computing and communication…
Report Title: The State of Europe’s Defence Industrial Base
Rapporteur: Jean-Marie BOCKEL (France)
Year: 2017
Whereas the members of the Alliance reaffirmed in Warsaw their commitment to devote 2% of their respective GDP on defence, while dedicating at…
Report Title: Russia – From Partner to Competitor
Rapporteur: Rasa JUKNEVICIENE (Lithuania/Lituanie)
Year: 2017
NATO-Russia relations are currently at their lowest since the end of the Cold War. Moscow’s provocative stance and actions towards NATO, and…
Report Title: Advancing stability in the Black Sea Region
Rapporteur: Ulla SCHMIDT (Germany)
Year: 2017
Once on the periphery of European consciousness, in recent years the Black Sea region reappeared on policymakers’ radar. Regional geopolitics are…
Report Title: The War in Syria and Iraq: Humanitarian Aspects
Rapporteur: Joëlle GARRIAUD-MAYLAM (France)
Year: 2017
The…
Report Title: Maintaining NATO’s Technology Edge: Strategic Adaptation and Defence Research & Development
Rapporteur: Thomas MARINO (United States)
Year: 2017
The transatlantic Alliance finds itself in a new and dynamic strategic…
Report Title: Burden sharing revisited
Rapporteur: Ojars Eriks KALNINS (Latvia)
Year: 2017
Since its founding, NATO has served as a transatlantic forum for political dialogue and consultation to define common political positions and adopt diplomatic…
Report Title: Food and Water Security in the Middle East and North Africa
Rapporteur: Maria MARTENS (the Netherlands)
Year: 2017
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has descended into turmoil since 2010/2011 – a period that also coincided with…
Report Title: NATO and Security in the Arctic
Rapporteur: Gerald E. CONNOLLY (United States)
Year: 2017
The Arctic region, or High North, ranked top of the security agenda during the Cold War due to its strategic importance. Its significance was largely…
Report Title: The Space Domain and Allied Defence
Acting Rapporteur: Madeleine MOON (United Kingdom)
Year: 2017
Governments and private agencies continue to hone their abilities to utilise the space domain at a rapid pace. Long-range satellite…
Report Title: Ballistic Missile Defence and NATO
Rapporteur: Joseph A. DAY (Canada)
Year: 2017
Alongside conventional and nuclear capabilities, ballistic missile defence (BMD) is now considered a core NATO capability. The current framework for NATO BMD…
Report Title: The Internet of Things: Promises and Perils of a Disruptive Technology
Rapporteur: Matej TONIN (Slovenia)
Year: 2017
The Internet of Things (IoT) has rightly been a technology buzzword for several years: it has the potential to disrupt…