Serbia-DE-Baner

Defence expeditures – Serbia – 2022

Serbian defence expenditure gradually kept rising since 2016, to experience a sharp increase in 2021. Military spending took up an increasing share of the total expenditure, from 4% in 2017 to 8.6% the past year. The National Assembly usually adopts the budget for the forthcoming year in early December. Balance sheets presenting the actual budget spending were late for 16 years, and the National Assembly retroactively adopted all of them in 2019. The Serbian defence budget undergoes major changes in the course of the year.

2021

Share of GDP 2.42%
Share of total government
expenditure 8.61%

Resources are allocated from budget reserves, predominantly for arms and equipment. In the absence of extraordinary circumstances that would require extreme measures, such radical increases indicate lack of comprehensive defence planning. 

 

Serbia has been applying programme budgeting since 2015. The budget is therefore separated into programmes, presenting budget funds for specific areas as well as different sources of funds. Nevertheless, the budget is not sufficiently disaggregated and detailed, which prevents comprehensive oversight. For instance, arms and expenditure costs are not disaggregated by concrete projects, and it is thus impossible to connect them to individual procurements. As can be seen from the budget structure, the upsurge in the military budget is the result of increasing arms and equipment costs.

* Data for 2021 and 2022 are based on the last changes in the 2021 budgets and the initial budget laws for 2022.

2022 – Balkan Defence Monitor
Defence Expeditures – Serbia

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Montenegro-IMC-Baner

International Military Cooperation – Montenegro – 2022

MILITARY EXERCISES

Montenegro participates in large multinational exercises organised under the auspices of U.S. Army Europe and Africa and NATO, as well as in regional navy exercises. In 2021, it has been part of three multinational navy operations exercises in Slovenia, Croatia and Greece, and a bilateral one with Slovenia. Prior to 2021, besides the navy exercises, it had taken part in a number of exercises focused on participation in multinational operations. In 2021, Montenegro joined two exercises in which it used its new equipment for the first time – the Bell 412 helicopter in Adriatic Strike 21, and the Oshkosh vehicles in Saber Guardian 21.

DONATIONS

In the course of the past three years, United States have been the largest contributor to the Montenegrin defence system. The United States have donated EUR 3.7 million worth of ballistic, communication and CBRN equipment as well as two EOD boats. Turkey was second, with a donation of 30 rifles with the accompanying equipment.

TOP FOREIGN DONORS (2019-2021)

United States of America
EUR 3,732,611
Turkey
EUR 39,116
Netherlands
EUR 12, 883

2022 – Balkan Defence Monitor
International Military Cooperation –
Montenegro

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NMacedonia-IMC-Baner

International Military Cooperation – North Macedonia – 2022

MILITARY EXERCISES

Besides joining the big multinational exercises organised by the U.S. Army Europe and Africa or NATO, North Macedonia hosted two big exercises in 2021. Decisive Strike 2021 was an exercise that was aimed at enhancing interoperability with forces of the USA Florida Army National Guard, Bulgaria and Greece. The Yearly Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) exercise was also held in Macedonia in 2021.

DONATIONS

The greatest portion of foreign donations to North Macedonia in the past three years were aimed at tackling the pandemic, since the COVID-19 related help came through the defence system. The largest single donation, consisting of 60 ventilators, was provided by USAID through the NATO Pandemic Response Trust Fund. Besides medical equipment, the United States of America also donated 1,200 M4 rifles. Norway donated a significant amount of medical equipment and supplies, as well as
equipment for the Military Academy. Even though the exact values are not publicly disclosed on the MoD website, Turkey has also made relevant donations in the past three years – rifles, an equipment transporter and uniforms.

TOP FOREIGN DONORS (2019-2021)

USAID (through NATO Pandemic Response Trust Fund)
EUR 1,400,000
United States of America
EUR 1,240,129
Norway
EUR 955,000

2022 – Balkan Defence Monitor
International Military Cooperation –
North Macedonia

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BiH-IMC-Baner

International Military Cooperation – Bosnia and Herzegovina – 2022

MILITARY EXERCISES

In the last three years, Bosnia and Herzegovina predominantly did join multinational exercises with NATO and partner countries, with the exception of bilateral annual exercise with the United States of America. AFBiH members participate in multinational exercises organised under the auspices of U.S. Army Europe and Africa or NATO. They also join in exercises organised within regional initiatives, such as the B-9 forum or the US-Adriatic Charter (A5). The exercises are mainly focused on building interoperability for joint action in multinational operations. It also participated in two air operations exercises in 2021, as part of the Balkan Medical Task Force and as part of the team for tactical aircraft guidance.

DONATIONS

The largest foreign donor in Bosnia and Herzegovina are the United States, which donated four Huey II helicopters, 41 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (Humvee), as well as emergency situations, IT and light infantry equipment over the past three years. Turkey signed a deal with Bosnia and Herzegovina to donate roughly 12,270,000 EUR for arms and equipment, provided that it is ordered from the Turkish defence industry, while China donated engineering machines.

TOP FOREIGN DONORS (2019-2021)

United States of America
EUR 51,287,841
Turkey
EUR 12,299,802
China
EUR 1, 432, 995

2022 – Balkan Defence Monitor
International Military Cooperation –
Bosnia and Herzegovina

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WDS-serbia-01

Women in Defence System – Serbia – 2022

women-icon01
National Action Plan 1325:

Serbia adopted its first five-year plan in 2010 and was among the pioneers in translating the UN women, peace and security agenda to the local level.1 The second action plan for the implementation of Resolution 1325 in Serbia was adopted in 2017, but has expired two years ago.2 In its Concluding Observations on the Fourth Periodic Report on Serbia, the CEDAW Committee recommended that Serbia allocate sufficient resources and enhance mechanisms to effectively implement, monitor and evaluate the impact of the second national action plan and undertake a mid-term evaluation of the plan without any further delay. However, despite the official announcements made in 2021,4 there seems to be no political will to start the process. The second action plan was ambitiously designed, but partially implemented.5 For example, in the second Serbian action plan, policymakers envisioned a greater focus on the localisation of NAP 1325 and conflict prevention, as well as on dealing with the past. However, this has yet to be met in the future. The Ministry of Defence reported that the lack of action plan did not stop the process of implementing the NAP 1325 guidelines in the defence system due to the existence of gender equality mechanisms and donor support, primarily UNDP/ SEESAC.

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Participation of women in the MoDs and the Armed Forces:

In principle, all positions are available to women and they are represented even in special forces’ units such as the Military Police Special Operation Battalion “Cobras” or the Special Brigade of the Serbian Armed Forces. Girls and women prepare for military service by attending military high school, the Military Academy and the Military Medical academy (VMA). Statistics from the Ministry of Defence show that the share of women among non-uniformed personnel (civilians) in the MoD and in the Serbian Armed Forces (SAF) is currently 53.72% (2022). Similar to many other countries in the region, the majority of women are engaged in civilian positions within the defence system. When it comes to the share of women among officers, non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and soldiers, Serbia has the highest percentage of women who are professional soldiers – 16.31%. However, a similar trend is not present in the higher ranks, as only 8.68%of women serve as officers and 3.04% of women are NCOs. Still, a slight increase has been noted in all the categories compared to 2019 (7% officers, 2% NCOs, 15.5 % soldiers).6

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Representation of women in command and leadership positions:

According to the available data from 2022, 14.68% of women hold leading positions in the MoD, while 5.21% of women hold command positions in the Serbian Armed Forces. The highest rank held by women in the Serbian Armed Forces is still that of Colonel, while the highest position within the MoD to which a woman has been appointed is that of Secretary of State.

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Participation of women in peacekeeping operations:

According to the Ministry of Defence, 280 members of the Serbian Armed Forces are currently participating in five UN peacekeeping operations and three EU missions, and 11.43% of them are women. Women are engaged as military observers in the SAF unit and teams, as well as in the Level 2+ military hospital and in medical teams. The SIPRI report from 2021 shows that Serbia is among the top ten contributors to UN peace operations based on the number of women members of military personnel (44 women, or 15%),7 which has been acknowledged and praised by the USG for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix.8 Despite the increase in the number of SAF members deployed in multinational operations, the data show that the percentage of women has decreased.

2022 – Balkan Defence Monitor
Women In Defence System – Serbia

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Albania-IMC-Baner

International Military Cooperation – Albania – 2022

MILITARY EXERCISES

Albania is the least transparent country in the region when it comes to disclosing exercising activities with international partners. Albanian Armed Forces’ website cannot be accessed and the MoD’s website contains very scarce information on this topic. Hence, the data presented in the graph is an estimate based on information gathered through public sources and lists provided by other countries in the region.

Similarly to other NATO member countries in the region, it participates in big multinational exercises hosted by the U.S Army in Europe and Africa and NATO, but also in regional exercises organised under the auspices of the B-9 forum and the Adriatic Charter (A5).

DONATIONS

The United States of America are the biggest foreign donor of the Albanian defence system, having donated 37 Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles, engineering equipment, demilitarisation funds, 29 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (Humvees), 6 military drones, CBRN equipment, 100 M-4 rifles as well as other equipment in the past three years. Turkey has donated MPT-55 rifles, 6 Ford ambulances and emergency situations equipment. Italy has donated two Lince armoured vehicles, whose value was not published.

TOP FOREIGN DONORS (2019-2021)

United States of America
EUR 42,149,169
Turkey
EUR 1,185,782

2022 – Balkan Defence Monitor
International Military Cooperation – Cratia

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North-Macedonia-DE-Baner

Defence expenditures – North Macedonia – 2022

North Macedonian defence expenditure increased around 30% between 2017 and 2020. Further increases have been planned after the country became a member of NATO in 2020. Before that, it was spending roughly 1% on the military. Defence expenditure has taken up an increasing portion of the total government spending, from 2.7%in 2017 to 5% that was planned for 2022.

2021

Share of GDP 1.43%
Share of total government
expenditure 4.02%

The Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia usually adopts budget laws in late December, while balance sheets are adopted regularly, with some occasional delays. The MoD regularly publishes semi-annual budget realisation reports.


North Macedonian defence budget changed in 2021, as the country signed the contract to buy Stryker light armoured vehicles. This purchase altered the budget structure in favour of arms and equipment.

Similar to other countries in the region, North Macedonia uses programme budgeting, which is not sufficiently disaggregated. Budgets and balance sheets show highly aggregated sums for different programmes, and sources of funding are presented for the entire MoD budget.

* Data for 2021 and 2022 are based on the last changes in the 2021 budgets and the initial budget laws for 2022.

2022 – Balkan Defence Monitor
Defence Expeditures – North Macedonia

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Montenegro-DE-Baner

Defence expenditures – Montenegro – 2022

Montenegrin defence expenditure experienced a big increase right after the country joined NATO, in 2018 and 2019, caused by the attempt to meet the commitments made to the Alliance. However, it went backx to its earlier level in 2020. Besides the pandemic, the change of government after the 2020 elections and the subsequent
political crisis have certainly also influenced the overall budget and defence planning for the forthcoming period.

2021

Share of GDP 0.90%
Share of total government
expenditure 2.15%

The Parliament adopted the 2021 budget after a delay of more than six months. Earlier, the Government would usually provide a budget proposal to the Parliament one month before the start of the next budget year. The Parliament has never adopted any balance sheet submitted by the government even, though it is legally required to do so.

Montenegro spends the greatest share of its defence budget on personnel. This trend was shortly interrupted by the increase in arms and equipment expenditure in 2018 and 2019, when Montenegro started the procedure to procure Bell helicopters and Oshkosh armored vehicles. Nevertheless, big leaps in defence spending during the year, allocated to arms and equipment, suggest a general lack of long-term defense planning in Montenegro. Even though the Montenegrin budget demonstrates a slightly higher level of transparency than those of most countries in the region (i.e.
it shows individual projects or procurement),it still lacks sufficient transparency and disaggregation.

* Data for 2021 and 2022 are based on the last changes in the 2021 budgets and the initial budget laws for 2022.

2022 – Balkan Defence Monitor
Defence Expeditures – Montenegro

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Croatia-DE-Baner

Defence expenditures – Croatia – 2022

Croatian military expenditure had a sharp increase in 2021, due to the to the contract signed for the purchase of 12 French Dassault Rafale fighter jets at the end of the year. Before that, the expenditure did not experience any large changes, either nominally, or as a military burden. Defence expenditure has taken up around 3.50% of the total governmentexpenditure until 2021.

2021

Share of GDP 1.71%
Share of total government
expenditure 4.30%

The Croatian Parliament regularly adopts the budget for the forthcoming year in late Novemberor early December.
The Parliament also regularly adopts balance sheets and yearly Reports on Defence.

 

The 2021 increase is entirely attributed to the Rafale purchase at the end of the year, which resulted in a rebalance and a 49.7% rise in the planned budget. It should nevertheless be taken into account that the amount can be changed in the final balance sheet for 2021. Prior to that, there were no significant fluctuations during the year, and the initial budget was slightly underspent. Croatia spent the largest portion of its military budget on personnel; however, the above purchasemight change the planned budget structure in favour of arms and equipment.

The Croatian defence budget is the most transparent and disaggregated in the region. Unlike the budgets of other countries, the Croatian budget shows major procurements individually and breaks them down into subcategories.

* Data for 2021 and 2022 are based on the last changes in the 2021 budgets and the initial budget laws for 2022.

2022 – Balkan Defence Monitor
Defence Expeditures –
Croatia

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BiH-Baner

Defence expenditures – Bosnia and Herzegovina – 2022

Military expenditure of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been almost the same in the past five years, both nominally and as the share of GDP.¹

The Parliamentary Assembly has not adopted a federal budget in a timely manner since 2018.
The budget is usually adopted during, or at the end of, the year in to which it pertains. Due to a political crisis, the federal budget for 2021 and 2022 has not been adopted at all. Instead, quarterly decisions on temporary financing are adopted on the basis of the 2020 expenditure. Balance sheets, presenting the actual expenditure, are timely and regularly adopted.

2021

Share of GDP 0.78%

 

Almost 90% of the defence budget in 2021 was spent on personnel due to the political deadlock, which obstructed planning and according allocation of resources. Bosnia and Herzegovina generally spends the largest portion of its defence budget on personnel costs, while the arms and equipment share has not exceeded 4% since 2017.
Budget and balance sheets contain aggregated sums, and sources of funding for rather general categories of expenses. For instance, arms and equipment expenses can be found under the aggregated category Equipment procurement. The documents also include narrative reports with the rationale behind some general categories, i.e. monthly personnel turnover.

* Data for 2021 and 2022 are based on the last changes in the 2021 budgets and the initial budget laws for 2022.

    1.   Due to the complexity of the budget system, it is methodologically challenging to calculate the military expenditure
      of BiH as a share of the total government expenditure, comparable to other countries in the region. Namely, two
      entities have independent budgets that, then, allocate funds upward to the federal budget, which includes the
      defence budget.

2022 – Balkan Defence Monitor
Defence Expeditures –
Bosnia and Herzegovina

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