Ministry of defence Republic of Serbia
 
15.07.2010.

VIP comment by Defence Minister Dragan Šutanovac for NIN weekly



NEW SECURITY CHALLENGES

Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the changes in international relations and especially the matters of the international security, the things have not been settled yet. Redistribution of power between the large, small and regional powers, as well as the huge state interdependence, require further reform of the international system. In fact, the world we live in is changing every day, and it is caused by the significant influence of the globalization process and connections not only between the states but also the citizens – open borders, new and faster means of transport and communications, media, are connecting and drawing people together. In such circumstances, the issues of preservation and maintenance of security are gaining more important place. The role of security issues becomes crucial for the life of every person but also for determining whether a state is credible and active partner within the international community.

What is for sure, the region we belong to, the western Balkans, Southeast and Central Europe, and Europe in general, is not threatened by any external danger in terms of attack by a third country outside the region, with either conventional or unconventional weapons. After the end of the Cold War, the risk of military conflict in global terms has been significantly reduced. However, the world is still faced with many traditional and new challenges, risks and threats to security.

Does this mean that Europe and the Balkans, and thus Serbia are sure, safe and protected? Unfortunately not, because the new security challenges that are transformed have appeared and, although it is hard to see those with the naked eye, they must be taken into account. The new challenges for the European security are defined in the EU Security Strategy, adopted as early as in 2003, and in Serbia they were recognised as a threat and found their place in the National Security Strategy adopted in 2009. Great threat and challenge for the European security at the moment makes the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction – according to the arrangements that have been existing for three decades. Nuclear weapons must not be proliferated and the use of nuclear energy can be developed only for humane purposes. However, we are witnesses that there are countries that are suspected to do just this, and, in addition, that those weapons could become available to others, especially terrorists who are a major problem for the global security. The fear of terrorism is not unjustified, because such threats happen every day, and terrorist attacks that have taken significant civilian casualties have been experienced in a number of countries, and should not be ignored. New challenges for any defence system are also the issues of energy security and climate change, which require that all modern European countries, and therefore Serbia, seek responses to their consequences.

After the end of the Cold War, the risk of military conflict of global proportions has been significantly reduced. However, the world is still faced with many traditional and new challenges, risks and security threats

Especially great challenge to security is organized crime, which knows no borders between the countries. It may sound paradoxical that the criminals are "the most advance-guard" part of humanity, because there is no ethnic or religious or racial, or difference in sexual orientation among them, or any other difference that would burden their cooperation and illegal gaining of profit. All these issues are of great influence on the security of every citizen, so that the issues of human security are actually the base of the definition of the national security concept of Serbia.

How can Serbia effectively respond to all these challenges, and help not only to itself and its citizens, but also to all the Europeans, feel safe and secure? There are three levels of our activity and involvement: a national framework, regional cooperation, and involvement in the security framework in Europe. At the national level, in Serbia itself, it was done through the security sector reform – in the legislative framework this job has been successfully completed by the adoption of strategic documents, as well as a set of laws. According to the evaluations of the European Commission, given in the annual report on Serbia's progress in the process of the European integration, significant progress has been made in the civil and democratic control of the armed forces, with an increasing involvement of the security committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. By adopting the National Security Strategy and the Defence Strategy, as well as the Strategic Defence Review, and strengthening civil and democratic control, the Serbian legislature completed its reform of the armed forces and reached the European standards.

The second important level of our involvement is cooperation with our neighbours in the area of defence and security. In fact, this kind of cooperation is a prerequisite for the establishment of good bilateral relations, a successful regional exchange in the economy, energy, infrastructure, and not to forget, one of the important conditions to fulfil the criteria of regional cooperation, which is required as a condition of progress in the process of the European integration of any country in the Western Balkans. Signing of the Agreement on Cooperation between the ministries of defence of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Croatia, in June 2010, confirmed the understanding of the necessity of establishing such relationships. On the basis of this and many other agreements concluded so far in the region and outside it, with the main purpose to strengthen confidence and security building measures, we created a broad framework for cooperation. It allows cooperation in the fields of security policy and defence planning, military scientific cooperation, military education, military medicine, cooperation between the military police forces, in the field of peace support operations and cooperation in the field of atomic-biological-chemical protection, and cooperation in other important areas.
Finally, the third level of involvement of the Republic of Serbia in the system of the European security and European responses to global challenges is the inclusion of structures in Europe that deal with these issues. First of all, the full use all the opportunities arising from our membership in the Partnership for Peace. As the Republic of Serbia pointed out in its Presentation Document presenting the goals of participation in the Partnership for Peace, Serbia expressed its readiness to assume the responsibility for stable and lasting peace in the region, participate in UN-led peacekeeping operations and achieve the interoperability of the armed forces with generally accepted international standard of NATO member states. Then, the European framework includes participation in the activities of the European Union in the security sector, through its common security and defence policy. Namely, as a country that is a part of the Stabilisation and Association Process, and that has signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement, the Republic of Serbia is supposed to cooperate with the Union in developing its defence policy. The first step is the signing of the Framework Agreement on security with the EU, and the negotiations about it have recently started by forming the negotiating teams of both the contractual parties. Based on this agreement, Serbia will be able to be much more engaged when the EU Member States discuss the new challenges, will have the opportunity to offer its assistance in responding to them and thus to impose itself as a credible partner.

This is what Serbia certainly can do – to be a credible and responsible partner in Europe in responding to the security challenges. This is not only because Europe needs it, or because Serbia wants to join the EU, but because Serbia and its citizens share the same values with Europe and its citizens, and also the same concerns. On the other hand, the credibility of a good partner is required because Serbia cannot respond to the global security challenges alone, as it cannot any other state, but it is possible only in partnership with other European countries. Thus, helping Europe, Serbia is actually helping itself to protect its national interests, its sovereignty and reduce the risk for its citizens to a minimum.
 
MOD
Ministry of defence Republic of Serbia, Bircaninova 5 street, Belgrade
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