Description of project

The program aimed to encourage and support senior elected officials and other civilian and military leaders in Serbia-Montenegro committed to undertaking critical reform issues. The Club of Madrid brought together experienced international leaders from among the Club’s Members and expert practitioners with local leaders to discuss issues of democratic leadership, defence and security sector reform, and the effect of regional integration on reform. Advice and assistance focused particularly on questions regarding the exercise of political leadership, restructuring of key government institutions, expansion of civilian control over the armed forces, police and intelligence services, and design of a new national security strategy.

Workshops and conferences were structured to convene representatives of major institutions of Serbia-Montenegro’s nascent democracy – the legislative and executive branches, the armed forces, and civil society – to jointly address these issues. The Club of Madrid also worked closely with respected international NGOs, other governments and multilateral institutions in this effort.

The project developed the following activities:

• The Club of Madrid convened a workshop on security reform in Belgrade in July 2003, during which developed options for reform of the armed forces, intelligence services and the military-industrial complex.
• In the summer of 2003, the Club of Madrid secured the services of Narcis Serra, Spain’s former defence minister, to work as an advisor to Minister Tadic and to develop a framework for moving forward on specific reform issues.

Regional seminar “Securing Peace and Democracy in the Balkans” in Thessaloniki, May 22-23 2004 that brought together key political figures and defence experts throughout the Balkans and South Eastern Europe