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On Sunday, President Klaus Iohannis sent a message on NATO Day stating that “today, more than ever, NATO is proving to be highly relevant through the protection afforded to member states and their citizens.”
Romania celebrates 18 years since it had joined NATO.
“Today, as every year, we mark NATO Day on the first Sunday in April. This time, however, this anniversary is taking place in a special security context, generated by the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. 18 years ago, on April 2, 2004, the Romanian flag was hoisted for the first time at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, our country becoming a member of the strongest politico-military Alliance in history.
In its 73 years of existence, the North Atlantic Alliance has proved its crucial role in ensuring Euro-Atlantic security, being the guarantor of the security of the member states, including Romania. Collective defense has been and must remain the central element of the North Atlantic Alliance, as set out in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.
These principles were firmly and eloquently reaffirmed in Brussels at the NATO Extraordinary Summit on 24 March, when decisive steps were taken to achieve the long-term consolidation of the Allied position of deterrence and defense on the Eastern Flank, as Romania also demanded and argued.
We have shown that we, as Allies, have the capacity to act together, to strengthen the transatlantic relationship and to carry out, without hesitation, the mission of collective defense of common values and principles. The decision to create the NATO Combat Group in Romania, along with three other such structures on the Eastern Flank, which we obtained at the March 24 Summit, exactly reflects the determination and allied solidarity.
Today, more than ever, NATO is proving to be highly relevant by protecting Member States and their citizens from increasingly diverse and increasingly complex risks and threats,” said President Iohannis.
The Romanian head of state also pointed out that strengthening defense capacity is still a priority for our country, as proved by the ecision to increase defense spending from 2 to 2.5% of GDP starting in 2023.
“Romania also remains engaged, through substantial conceptual contributions, in the NATO adaptation process. In this regard, an important moment will be the NATO Summit in June in Madrid, when a new Strategic Concept will be approved and important decisions will be taken to further implement the objectives set out in the NATO 2030 Agenda. At the same time, Romania will continue to promote the partnership between NATO and the European Union, based on complementarity and synergy, and will support its partners – the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia or Bosnia and Herzegovina, in their efforts to increase resilience,” Iohannis stated.
In a message on NATO Day in Romania, PM Nicolae Ciuca also said that “the Russian military’s illegal military aggression against Ukraine and NATO’s response to this unwarranted invasion have demonstrated the key role of the Alliance, which has acted swiftly and swiftly to strengthen the security of the eastern flank and Romania.”
“We are determined, especially in the current context of war on the borders of Romania and NATO, to transform the position of Allied defense on the eastern flank and to develop the defensive capabilities of the Romanian Army to strengthen our role as a security provider. Therefore, at the CSAT level, as announced by the President of Romania, we will increase the defense budget by 25%, from 2% of GDP to 2.5% of GDP “, said Nicolae Ciucă.
The Romanian Prime Minister also added that Romania is “an important member of NATO”, and the allied measures recently adopted in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, “place us under the umbrella of the strongest politico-military alliance in history”.
“We are the first allied country on whose territory NATO has activated its Rapid Reaction Force for the first time in history. More than 3,000 soldiers from NATO countries, of which about 2,000 are Americans, are mobilized on the territory of our country, and over 20 allied planes carry out air police missions in the Romanian sky together with the Romanian Air Force. At the same time, NATO decided, at the extraordinary summit on March 24, to set up on the territory of Romania a Fighting Group led by our ally France”, Ciuca said. “All these are immediate and short-term measures. In the long run, we are preparing for the broadest transformation of NATO’s defense concept, as well as that of the Romanian Army with that of the alliance. In order to guarantee the security of all our citizens, we will make every effort for the Allied and American military presence to be increased and consolidated “, the Romanian Prime Minister declared.
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