Minister of Defense, Olta Xhaçka’s speech at the plenary session on the draft law on SEEBRIG

Published: Monday, 03 February 2020 18:03

Dear Colleagues,

Here is a brief description of the draft law prepared by the department I lead.

As the previous speaker said, the Multinational Peacekeeping Force of South East Europe is one of the first and important initiatives undertaken in our region with the aim of promoting security and stability, but also promoting good neighborly relations between our countries.

Albania joined this initiative in 1999 under the leadership of the late former Minister Hajdaraga. This is an agreement that has undoubtedly played an important role in preparing and enhancing the professional capacity of the Armed Forces; the creation of this force as a multinational brigade, with forces from all 7 member states: Albania, Italy, Turkey, Greece , Romania, Bulgaria and Northern Macedonia, combining the forces of countries aspiring the membership of our country but also of member states such as Italy, Turkey or Greece, has made it possible to exchange valuable experiences and enable the Armed Forces to participate in NATO and UN missions.

Considering the tremendous changes that have taken place in the Armed Forces of all member states, modernization and capacity building, the increased ability to interact within NATO, at some point there has also been a need to make changes in the functioning, or structure of this multinational force.

This is why the contributing countries see it necessary to bring about another amendment to the basic contract, through this protocol, which is the Sixth Additional Protocol to the SEEBRIG, which has as its primary objective the enhancement of the flexibility of the SEEBRIG interaction with other units in EU and UN NATO operations, as well as increasing the efficiency of the operation of the force in general. This will not distort its essence, the principles upon which the agreement works and the purpose for which it was created.

These changes consist mostly of an update of the terms explanation of how the SEEBRIG Brigade operates, including its rotation is directed, location, etc. So, there are changes that come as a result of the great changes that have taken place throughout the region and the modernization of the increased professionalism of the Armed Forces of all member states.

For decades, Albania has been transformed into a factor of stability and security in the region, a role which has been constantly praised by allies and partners. Agreements and initiatives like SEEBRIG have undoubtedly played a very important role in creating this positive image for our country.

Therefore, I invite colleagues to approve this bill, which comes not only as a need to modernize a successful deal, but also as a commitment by our country to our partners.