This research article was partially presented at my Lecture at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington DC, USA, while my tenureship as a Southeast Europe Policy Scholar.
By Dr. Marios Efthymiopoulos
Published at Europe’s World
20 October 2010
How can NATO practically enhance its financial performance, in a rapidly changing security environment?
While NATO is on its final steps for the Lisbon Summit in November 2010, the question of a viable practical budgetary finance for the future needs to be clearly addressed. NATO maybe engaged still, in reviews of its institutional, ethical and operational strategic foundations, however it needs to take into consideration possibly practical development and application of a new Strategic Concept that will be financially feasible, given the Alliance’s members budgetary national cuts. A new financially futuristic viable Alliance with a greater use of technology, rather than human resources in the operational fields or elsewhere requested, which costs a great amount of money, will project stability and development. It will have a positive impact factor on the financial needs of the new operations and new challenges and will utterly bring closer, civil to military relations.
This following article is part of A. research on NATO and its new challenges upon application of the new strategic concept post Lisbon Summit. B. This research is partially conducted at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington; while Southeast Europe Project Policy. It is also part of a lecture on “NATO’s future in an era of financial crisis” that was presented at the Center.
The global economic crisis already affects the defence expenditures of member states (latest casualty to be the UK), but also the Alliance, as an organization. What is therefore estimated is that NATO should re-examine its financial posture and expenditure but also positively react with new methods of development at a time of much needed initiatives for overall development of its organization.
Simply put it, if NATO is to deal with global issues, while retaining its peripheral role, NATO should become the dominant security and joint foreign political-military organization. To be internationally secure as a dominant power and viable as organization, it has to construct a robust and futuristic-minded financial viable organization; as such agreed by members-states, to conduct financial operations in a globalised world.
The report of the 12 member committee that was presented on May 17th 2010 explicitly refers to an array of more diffused challenges, without however specifying which. They range, but can be narrowed down to the following: International piracy, terrorism, proliferation of WMD’s, energy security and cyber-attacks, demographic concerns and natural disasters, amongst others.
NATO’s credibility and value were considered to be at stake as was implied at the report. The question on how would NATO win the support of the wider public sector, how will that be shown at this upcoming Strategic Concept was put in question.
One of the most important political actions will be for NATO to renew the “vows”, while preventing any possible rise of new rivalries. At the same time, given the official agreement of the President of the Russian Federation to attend the Lisbon Summit just two days ago, it is only fair to say that NATO cannot do without the Russian factor or otherwise stated the High Level meeting at the NATO-Russia Council.
Coming back to the initial question how can NATO counter the current financial crisis as to not become a ‘Trojan horse’ for the Alliance is a n important question on its future measures to be taken against new and upcoming challenges.
Security through financial co-operation: Legal Framework
For a robust financial operation of NATO’s future budgetary missions, the legal articles of the founding treaty of 1949 explicitly refer to the financial questions. They are: Articles 2,3, and 4.
Article 2 of the NATO Treaty refers to the Allies’ commitment: “to contribute toward further peace by eliminating economic policies and encourage economic collaboration.
Article 3 of the NATO Treaty refers to the Allies’ operational burden sharing, which therefore requires new initiatives on finances. “Parties will maintain their individual but also collective capacity to resist an attack. In this case if the financial crisis is considered an ‘attack’ to NATO’s institutions, NATO allies should ‘reject’ those aspects that create financial questions. NATO should take the lead in initiating new methods and ways of financial justification for current or future operations but also the financial budgetary operations of the organization of both the international civilian and military staff. NATO should become ‘financially attractive’ to its current but also future members. The use of technology that will diminish a large portion of over-expenditure should be put in place.
Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, refers to joint consultations when integrity is at stake. Therefore, when the financial integrity of NATO is at stake, a financial security joint consultation is deemed as necessary.
If NATO is to produce more accurate global but also peripheral political or military results, the new Strategic Concept should financially, reaffirm the commitment of allies to the financial support and future of NATO. Allies need to reaffirm their commitment to fund projects for conventional and unconventional operations where needed, should set up new guidelines for further financial control while in operations, but also use new methods and approaches for financial development
If and so, Article 5 on the operational response on an armed attack is an attack on all’ the financial support should be already in place in a form of joint operational finances fund. A creation of a joint operational fund will provide the credibility of NATO forces to uphold an important and necessary tool without the direct financial approval of all member states, but rather only political.
New membership to the Euro-Atlantic ‘family’ would be a valuable asset, if only there would be taken into account two important issues: 1. to clarify the proportion of financial offer of new states to the Alliance but also their future entrance to the European Union, 2. to satisfy the military and political resources of NATO, human and technical factors, to approve of a credible, developing and emerging power in an ever enlarged periphery but also globally.
Applying a credible financial security to NATO:
Section 25, of the 1999 Strategic Concept, states that security has a broad approach. Therefore, the possibility of a re-examination of the defence expenditure dimension is deemed as necessary, since the broad approach of NATO’s security reflects also its financial stability.
This current research proposes that NATO capitalizes on the issue of developing a capital fund for joint project finances. As such constant joint political or military consultations of member-states can be avoided except on the agreement procedures of a consensus, and therefore any expenses that come with them, for protocol negotiations.
NATO can and will truly become a financial developer and therefore a constructive financial force multiplier.
NATO as a Collective Alliance of 28 member states holds the democratic institutions and the legalization as a respectful legal peripheral organization to apply new forms that would lead to supranational forms of governance, otherwise stated as form of global governance.
What we can propose for the financial future of NATO are:
NATO needs to come close to its practical ‘international market value’.
A productive, futuristic, credible Alliance that has checked its finances for its future perspectives, applications and operations requested under the new Strategic Concept will meet the Alliances new challenges and current operational military and civilian demands.
As such:
- NATO needs to “re-finance” it-self.
- NATO needs to provide the way to an open market-economy. It needs to become an attractive investment
- NATO needs to allow its leadership to ask for even greater burden sharing.
- Examine the common or joint funding, while also its inner categories (training sectors, education, communication and international staff).
- Specialize and prioritize, by at the same time investing on a new range or set of capabilities centered to technology.
- Re-organize to rationalize its wider staff and operations.
These proposals would complement NATO’s current efforts, while also complement the current work of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly: Resolution 377 refers to “a quest for new financial measures needed to broaden the security spectrum of future operations”.
With regards to the co-operation initiatives, NATO should be seeking deepening practically relations with the EU. NATO should develop new forms of co-operations with other organizations that are not yet included to the political agenda. NATO should request a further involvement to the UN mandated operations.
Global Trends and Operational Challenges:
A viable financial international organization will require less administrative complications towards its new goals, for an ever enlarged international security and enlarged environment.
Regionally or otherwise stated geographically, NATO should enlarge to the rest of the Balkan area but also slowly move towards the Middle-East and the Caucasus region.
Specific regions of concern should be clarified, where the challenges should be located: Iran, Arab-Israel relations, North Korea, Pakistan, Africa (Sudan, Somalia, Congo, Latin America anti-drug war and international piracy missions, cyber-defence operations.
The non-members regional players of co-operation with NATO should be Russia and China. The CSTO should also be engaged into a form of co-operation and where the NATO-Russia Council should enlarge on even more joint civilian and military operations.
Organizationally, a viable financial administration will minimize national caveats, will further enhance the possibility of clearly needed re-examination of the military rules of engagement as well as its applicability factor, and enhance practical protection of civilians that are NATO member-countries. The North Atlantic Council should still keep the right to decide for the rule of law. Most importantly the chain of both military but also NATO political command shall remain unified in new operational endeavors.
Administratively, more powers will eventually be given to the Secretary General and the SACEUR for operations with regards to NATO actions away from its immediate periphery. A reduction of operational costs of current directorates and NATO centers will provide a practicability and enhance everyday communications as to reach an effective and productive decision-making procedure.
To the issue of Conventional Arms Control Policy, transparency should remain amongst member states. The expenditure factors should still be referred, while reduced. There should therefore be a more constructive political joint consultation and decision-making process to constraint non-members from buying weaponry that could trigger instability and fear to NATO states.
The way forward:
In order to reach peace, trade should be considered as means of peace, according to Montesquieu.
This means that NATO should become a peace and force multiplier as long as it includes the needs of peace thus trade and its current form as a forum for negotiations, culture and exchange of information political and military, while enlarging and getting on more operations and more challenges.
NATO needs to define a grand financial strategy that will be built on the sense of capitalizing its political and military experience. It is important for NATO member-states to explicitly be further financially engaged. As long as security challenges occur, the nature of enemy methods, increase as well. Conventional or unconventional threats, NATO needs to assure productivity, credibility, development and assurance. Financially, this can only be successful if all existing political norms, values and legal agreements of NATO member-states to the Alliance are all fulfilled to the financial sectors as well.
Marios Points 