DEMOCRACY AND SECURITY in Southeastern Europe, No 1

de fe nse and mi li ta ry issu es, fi na nci al issu es, se cu ri ty issu -
es and le gal issu es. In addi ti on to re ce ivi ng expe rt assi -
sta nce, each ye ar the Re pu blic of Cro atia we nt thro ugh
a pro cess of pro gress eva lu ati on, which ena bled the me -
asu ri ng of effe cts and tra nsfo rma ti on of go als in acco -
rda nce wi th the ne eds and abi li ti es. Alo ng wi th
co unse li ng in the abo ve me nti oned are as, NA TO also esti
ma ted the effe cts of de mo cra tic co nso li da ti on, the re -
by expa ndi ng the area of re fo rms si gni fi ca ntly.
Fu rthe rmo re, NA TO often asked qu esti ons in re la ti on
to mi no ri ti es, the re tu rn of re fu ge es, co lla bo ra ti on wi th
The Ha gue Tri bu nal, fi ght aga inst co rru pti on and orga -
ni zed cri me, ju di ci al re fo rm, etc., thus sho wi ng co nce rn
for Cro ati a’s enti re so ci al and po li ti cal de ve lo pme nt.
After the ge ne ral pa rtne rship go als, alre ady in 2003 the
Re pu blic of Cro atia de ci ded to de fi ne the are as which
we re di re ctly fo cu sed on cre ati ng new ca pa ci ti es of de fe -
nse system. In its Indi vi du al Pa rtne rship Pro gram in 2003,
the Re pu blic of Cro atia de fi ned its are as of pri ori ty :
- to impro ve inte ro pe ra bi li ty in the system of co mma -
nd, su pe rvi si on and co mmu ni ca ti ons inclu di ng info -
rma ti on syste ms, na vi ga ti on and ide nti fi ca ti on
syste ms,
- to impro ve the aspe cts of inte ro pe ra bi li ty thro ugh
ado pti ng pro ce du res and te rmi no lo gy,
- to plan ci vil pro te cti on,
- to impro ve de fe nse pla nni ng, which inclu des ma ki ng
the bu dget and re so urce ma na ge me nt,
- to offer Engli sh la ngu age co urses and the re by incre -
ase the nu mber of so ldi ers, under offi ce rs, and offi -
ce rs wi th STA NAG ena bli ng the ir wo rk in an
inte rna ti onal envi ro nme nt,
- to impro ve inte ro pe ra bi li ty of lo gi sti cs thro ugh ope -
ra ti onal, ma te ri al and admi ni stra ti ve aspe cts of sta -
nda rdi za ti on, thro ugh mi li ta ry exe rci ses and
re spe cti ve acti vi ti es in tra ini ng,
- to ra ise to tal ca pa ci ti es of armed fo rces for exe rci si -
ng fu tu re ta sks,
- to acco mpli sh pro gress in the fi eld of mi li ta ry edu ca -
ti on, tra ini ng and do ctri ne. 12
Du ri ng 2006 and 2007, the Re pu blic of Cro atia co mple -
ted two impo rta nt do cu me nts for the fu rther de ve lo -
pme nt of de fe nse system de si gned for acco mpli shi ng
hi gh le vel of inte ro pe ra bi li ty: the “Stra te gic De fe nse Re -
vi ew” and the “Lo ng Te rm De ve lo pme nt Plan of Armed
Fo rces of the Re pu blic of Cro atia 2006-2015”. The “Stra -
te gic De fe nse Re vi ew” de fi nes pri ori ti es in de ve lo pi ng
ca pa ci ti es for pa rti ci pa ti on in alli ed ope ra ti ons, and po -
ints out the co mmi tme nt of the Re pu blic of Cro atia to
de ve lop co mple te ly pro fe ssi onal, mo va ble, de plo ya ble
and fi na nci ally vi able armed fo rces. The lo ng-te rm de -
ve lo pme nt plan de fi nes the de ta ils of a new stru ctu re
for the armed fo rces, as we ll as co ncre te pro je cts in the
fi eld of mo de rni za ti on and equ ipme nt for the pu rpo se
of the gra du al achi eve me nt of the ne ce ssa ry ca pa ci ti es
by 2015. The Re pu blic of Cro atia de fi ned ca pa ci ty de -
ve lo pme nt to be able to de ploy up to 8% of its gro und
fo rces to ope ra ti ons, whi le 40% of gro und fo rces sho -
uld be tra ined and equ ipped for ope ra ti ons under the
Alli ance wi ng. Thro ugh the pro po sed pa rtne rship go als
for 2006, the empha sis was on de ve lo pi ng armed fo rces
which wo uld be ca pa ble of ta ki ng re spo nsi bi li ty for inte -
rna ti onal se cu ri ty inde pe nde ntly, that is, in co ope ra ti on
wi th other co untri es. It is impo rta nt to no te that the Re -
pu blic of Cro atia sta rted from the fa ct that the tra nsfo -
rma ti on was co ndu cted on the ba sis of NA TO be ing a
co ntra ctu al orga ni za ti on in which each me mber co untry
was re spo nsi ble for bu ildi ng its own se cu ri ty ca pa ci ti es.
Ho we ver, in order to acco mpli sh the syne rgy va lue of
the Alli ance, de fe nse ca pa ci ti es sho uld be bu ilt on jo int
ne eds and eva lu ati ons wi th the pu rpo se of bu ildi ng fo -
rces ca pa ble of pe rfo rmi ng ope ra ti ons across the spe -
ctrum — from ope ra ti ons of pe ace pre ve nti on and cri sis
pre ve nti on, to ope ra ti ons of impo si ng pe ace, as is re fle -
cted thro ugh the co nclu si ons of Ista nbul Su mmit. 13
In addi ti on to the abo ve me nti oned adva nta ges re fe rri -
ng to insti tu ti onal and se cu ri ty se ctor ada pta ti on, the Re -
pu blic of Cro atia achi eved ma ny other be ne fi ts by be ing
a NA TO me mber. For exa mple, it di re ctly pa rti ci pa tes
wi th other me mbe rs in ma ki ng a new stra te gic co nce pt
of the Alli ance, thus, it has an oppo rtu ni ty to di scuss the
issu es which wi ll de fi ne the fu tu re of NA TO and its po -
si ti on in inte rna ti onal are na. We ha ve to be awa re that
this is not ju st a di scu ssi on on the stra te gy of one orga -
ni za ti on, but a co nce pt which wi ll de fi ne key de te rmi -
na tes of to tal glo bal se cu ri ty. Of co urse, NA TO wi ll vi ew
glo bal se cu ri ty in a way that ensu res all instru me nts for
achi evi ng the inte re sts of me mbe rs sta tes, that is, for
ma inta ini ng the pro ce sses in the inte rna ti onal envi ro -
nme nt on a le vel which mo st co ntri bu tes to bu ildi ng inte -
rna ti onal pe ace and sta bi li ty.
In addi ti on to glo bal be ne fi ts, the re are adva nta ges re la -
ted to this re gi on, and ha vi ng jo ined NA TO, Cro atia achi -
eved a new po si ti on in and pe rta ini ng to the re gi on. It is
a kno wn fa ct that NA TO put hu ge effo rts in ma na gi ng
the cri sis which ha ppe ned after the di sso lu ti on of SFRY
and the wa rs wa ged on its te rri to ry — NA TO is sti ll pre -
se nt wi th its tro ops in the re gi on, and its enga ge me nt wi ll
ce rta inly co nti nue. The Re pu blic of Cro atia now has an
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