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The decision comes after Albania was listed among the countries that did not meet NATO's minimum defense spending target, while authorities have not made public the details of the use of the $302 million loaned by the US...
The Albanian government has approved a direct loan agreement with the United States, which will be used for the military. Based on the agreement approved by the Rama Government, Albania will receive a loan of 302 million dollars, within the framework of external military financing.
The official announcement of the Council of Ministers states that at today's meeting, the direct loan agreement was approved in principle, between the Republic of Albania, represented by the Ministry of Finance, and the United States of America, represented by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), within the framework of Foreign Military Financing (FMF), with a loan in the total amount of 302 million US dollars.
The official website of the Albanian Government does not provide further details regarding the loan agreement, but what is known is that they will be used for military purposes.
This decision comes at a time when Albania is ranked among the 3 countries that have not reached the minimum target for defense spending, that of 2%, while President Donald Trump has requested that the target go to 5% for each of the Alliance countries.
Dutch media outlet NOS, citing NATO sources, writes that the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Albania are expected to spend less than 2% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defense in 2024.
In March, NATO announced that all member countries had reached the 2% of GDP threshold for defense. However, a later verification of financial data showed that three countries had included in the calculation expenses that are not allowed to be considered defense investments.
According to a senior NATO official, Albania and Slovenia presented the largest discrepancies, resulting in about 0.5 percentage points below the required target. The issue takes on particular importance at a time when the alliance is discussing further increases in military spending. Before the NATO summit in The Hague, Secretary General Mark Rutte had put pressure on countries that were not meeting their commitments, warning of the political and strategic consequences of a lack of investment in defense.
Sources within the alliance warn that the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Albania risk missing the 2% target again this year. There are also concerns about Hungary's spending levels.
Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned that the United States could reduce its financial contribution to NATO structures if allies continue to fail to meet their commitments. Currently, the US covers about 15% of the alliance's joint budget, which funds headquarters, missions and military exercises.
According to sources cited by NOS, Albania may also face political consequences within the alliance, including the possibility of not being trusted to organize the next NATO summit, Dutch media writes. / Pamphlet /
Duket të armatosemi deri dhëmbë....armikun imagjinar na kanos
Çdo qindarkë që harxhohet me programet e NATOs është para që duhej të shpenzohej për pensionistët, fëmijët, zhvillimin e vendit. Fatkeqësisht, bota është ndryshe, dhe për të kënaqur dikë, ndërshkojmë ato që duhej të ndihmonim realisht.