Augustin Palokaj writes that NATO contribution to Kosovo and the region is unparalleled and it is impossible to imagine how the Balkans would look like today were it not for NATO intervention. He acknowledges that all this undertaking has not been easy on the NATO member countries but its success in the region gave a meaning to Alliance’s existence.
“After interventions in the Balkans, NATO transformed and expanded. It not only expanded membership from 16 to 28 countries but it became a global actor also through building of new partnership stretching from Eastern Europe to South Korea, Japan, and several Arab countries. It also had new engagements in Afghanistan and in defence of Mediterranean Sea. Today, no one speaks anymore about NATO’s disintegration despite its role and doctrine of action having changed,” writes Palokaj.
He notes that although NATO’s presence in the region, and in Kosovo, is rather symbolic, it is “irreplaceable”. NATO even today continues to be the most trusted international mission not only for Kosovo Albanians but also the Serbs.
It is true that the EU pledges the most financial assistance for the region but only NATO can create the sense of security, stresses Palokaj.
He suggests that NATO should find modalities to include the Balkans countries in its initiatives, while in Kosovo’s case, the four NATO countries that have not recognised its independence, should at least vote in favour of its inclusion in the Alliance’s Partnership for Peace programme.
At the same time, notes Palokaj “NATO would have to remain militarily present in Kosovo until Kosovo became a NATO member.”
If NATO fails to become politically reengaged in the region, it risks destroying all the success it has accomplished so far, warns Palokaj at the end of the column.
