Radio România Internațional

Tag: NATO command structures

  • Romanian Naval Forces assume command of the NATO Group in the Mediterranean Sea

    Romanian Naval Forces assume command of the NATO Group in the Mediterranean Sea

    An additional three single-command F-16 Fighting Falcon jets of the Royal Dutch Air Forces landed on June 19 at the 86th “Lieutenant Aviator Gheorghe Mociorniţă” Air Base  in Fetești (southeast). The aircraft will serve the Training Center established as a result of the collaboration between the Romanian and Dutch Defense Ministries, in partnership with Lockheed Martin and with the support from Denmark, the coordinator of the F-16 International Coalition alongside the Netherlands.

     

     

    After nearly 6 months away from home, the 3rd tour of the Military Contingent of the Republic of North Macedonia handed over command. The transfer of authority took place in Caracal (southern Romania), on June 19, 2024, in the presence of representatives of the South-East Multinational Division, the South-East Multinational Brigade and other training structures.

     

     

    Some 50 multinational representatives from NATO’s command structures participated in the Council meeting charged with planning the training program and military exercises of allied operations, as well as in the Exercise Budget User Group over June 18-20, as part of key training events hosted by the Southeast Multinational Corps Command in Sibiu (center). The purpose of these meetings was to identify resources, synchronize and sequence collective training and exercises.

     

     

    Also with respect to NATO, the Training, Simulation, Evaluation and War Games Center of the Naval Forces hosted, over June 10-14, the 48th edition of the NATO MAREVAL maritime evaluation course. Organized by the Allied Maritime Command in Constanța (southeast), the course was attended by 22 servicemen, including 4 trainers from Spain and Germany, 10 Romanian servicemen and 8 servicemen from Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Greece and Ukraine. Participants developed their knowledge of NATO standards, criteria and assessment procedures used in the maritime field. At the same time, the participating staff familiarized themselves with planning exercises and evaluation activities, in compliance with NATO standards.

     

     

    In other news regarding the navy, Romania is taking command of a NATO naval group for six months. The “Vice-Admiral Constantin Bălescu” 274 mine and net sweeper set sail on June 20 from the Constanța Military Port, headed for the Mediterranean Sea to join the permanent NATO mine-fighting naval group. In a military ceremony scheduled for June 28, in Salamis, Greece, the command of the naval group will be taken over by Romania, for the second time in 4 years. The “Vice-Admiral Constantin Bălescu” 274 mine and net sweeper is commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Bogdan Iosif. It has a crew of 85 Romanian and foreign servicemen, and for the next six months it will lead a permanent NATO naval group, including military watercraft from Italy, Spain and Turkey. By participating in this mission, the Romanian Naval Forces contribute to the fulfillment of our country’s commitment to ensuring regional security and strengthening international cooperation with a view to maintaining stability in the Mediterranean. (Constantin Herțanu & VP)

  • Romania – a key partner supporting NATO’s deterrence and defense efforts

    Romania – a key partner supporting NATO’s deterrence and defense efforts

    Stepping up NATO’s military presence on the Eastern Flank is a key element of Allied deterrence. Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its subsequent invasion of Ukraine in 2022 are events that have prompted NATO leaders to rethink their defense strategies. Romania holds an important place within the Alliance, a true anchor in the southern part of the allied eastern flank and a riparian of the Black Sea, a region with strategic relevance for European and Euro-Atlantic security. At the NATO summits of Madrid and Vilnius, in 2022 and 2023 respectively, Romania raised the issue of consolidating NATO’s presence in the Black Sea region.

     

     

    NATO’s advanced posture currently includes 8 multinational battle groups, provided by framework nations and supplemented by other allies. They are deployed in the 3 Baltic States, in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania, thus covering the entire eastern flank. In Romania, the battle group is led by France, whereas the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg are contributing troops. Currently, the group is at battalion level, but it is expected that, starting next year, it will grow to a brigade totaling 4,000 soldiers. Also in Romania, NATO also has several command structures: the South-East Multinational Corps in Sibiu (center) and the South-East Multinational Division in Bucharest, but also the South-East Multinational Brigade in Craiova (south) and the NATO Forces Integration Unit in Bucharest.

     

     

    Romania is a key partner in the development of the Alliance’s deterrence and defense efforts on the Eastern Flank by operationalizing the anti-missile shield at Deveselu (south) and by strengthening security in the Black Sea, jointly with its allies. A good example in that regard is the beginning of construction works for the expansion of the “Mihail Kogălniceanu” military base in Constanța County (southeast), which will be able to accommodate 10,000 NATO soldiers. The Romanian government pledged to invest 2.5 bln EUR in this project. Romania currently hosts around 5,000 foreign troops.

     

     

    The need to establish a permanent NATO naval group in the Black Sea region has been increasingly discussed of late. Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey must identify a common solution for ensuring security in the Black Sea. The model of the Baltic Sea, which practically became a so-called ‘NATO lake’ after the accession of Sweden and Finland, can be a good example in that respect. Strengthening relations between NATO and Ukraine or even accepting Ukraine as a NATO member can open up new possibilities for strengthening the Black Sea region.

     

     

    The fact that our country has the largest land border with Ukraine has impacted Romania’s role and position at NATO level. With respect to support for the neighboring country, Romania might offer Ukraine one of its Patriot air defense systems. It is a hypothesis advanced by president Klaus Iohannis following his visit to the USA. The decision can only be taken after consulting the Supreme Defense Council. Romania has four such Patriot systems, one of which has already been field-tested, and the other three are in advanced stages of operationalization. Should Romania press forward in that direction, it would be on these three systems that would reach Ukraine. “It is a rather intense discussion about who can provide Ukraine with Patriot systems. Romania has such systems at its disposal and Ukraine has approached us. President Joe Biden brought this up and I said I’m open to it. I will have to further discuss this back home, in the Supreme Defense Council, to see how we can solve the problem, what we can offer and, obviously, what we can receive in return because it is unacceptable that Romania remains without anti-aircraft defense”, president Iohannis said. (VP)