Remarks by U.S. Ambassador Marcie B. Ries at the "Civil Alliance 08: Together Towards NATO" Conference (April 20, 2007)

Good Morning. Members of the Civil Alliance, Minister Mustafaj, Deputy Minister Karabina, Members of Parliament, Ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen.
Today, the Alliance has grown to 26 countries, including many former Warsaw Pact members. The challenges we face have also changed in many ways. Although the Soviet Union dissolved in the early 90's, eliminating the threat the Alliance faced for its first 50 years, a different threat of global terrorism cloaked in religious fundamentalism has emerged.
We are proud of the job NATO is doing to keep the peace in Kosovo and to stabilize and defend democracy in Afghanistan.
Yet it would be wrong to think of NATO as simply a pact among nations of Europe to defend each other from military threats.
Security is not limited to the absence of war. It means be prepared for and supporting each other in the case of natural disasters countering proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and it means especially leaders of like-minded countries meeting to discuss global situations.
NATO is about shared political and democratic values. Allies share and defend democratic systems of government, respect for human rights, rule of law, and free market economics. These values define NATO, just as much as coordinated military structures.
That is why – in addition to military requirements for membership, aspiring members are asked to make political and economic reforms.
Of course, the efforts that aspiring members make to meet NATO requirements and to prepare themselves for eventual membership are valuable in themselves.
But they do require financial resources and, a commitment by the government and citizens to work to implement change.
Albania has already shown a willingness to commit these resources by increasing the portion of the budget for defense reform and by deploying troops in one NATO mission to Afghanistan.
In order to make change, Albania, as all current members, must be able to count on the understanding and political support of its citizens. Albanians favor NATO membership, but they need to know specifically what the costs and benefits are.
Civil society and NGOs can play an important role in organizing support and in helping citizens, through education and media, to understand in detail how NATO works.
The roles many of you have played already, and will continue to play, in shaping people’s attitudes and bringing them a greater understanding of what NATO expects of Albania and what Albanians can expect from NATO membership is vital.
Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia hope to receive invitations to join NATO at the 2008 Summit. To demonstrate to the Allies that Albania has met NATO's performance-based standards, means that Albania must engage audiences both domestically and internationally. And you, in civil society, can help in this area as well.
Albania has made good progress on its MAP. But more work is needed. Getting it done will require the Government, Opposition, and civil society on behalf of the citizens to work closely together for the good of the country.
This conference provides an excellent opportunity for dialogue, and for exchanging ideas with counterparts from Croatia and Macedonia. My congratulations to the organizers.
The United States continues to support your aspirations to meet the standards required to join the Alliance and, especially, the role of civil society in helping this process.