Radio România Internațional

Tag: Sweden and Finland to join NATO

NATO’s new strategic concept

The NATO Summit in Madrid is
one of the most important meetings in recent years in terms of the results for
Romania, president Klaus Iohannis said at the end of the first day of the
summit. The president added that discussions and decisions focused on Russia’s
military invasion of neighboring Ukraine, and that the new strategic concept of
NATO, adopted on the sidelines of the summit, truly reflects the security
developments. Therefore, Russia is no longer considered a partner, but rather
the most significant and direct threat to allied security and stability. For
the first time, communist China was accused of using a wide array of political,
economic and military actions in order to expand its influence across the
globe. China’s ambitions and its coercive policies represent a challenge to
NATO’s interests, security and values, NATO leaders say, condemning the
strategic partnership between Beijing and Moscow which, they say, goes against
the international order.

NATO also confirmed the consolidation of its military
presence on the eastern flank, including in Romania. NATO’s rapid response
force will go up from 40,000 to over 300,000 military. This is the biggest
overhaul of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War that will be
agreed at this Summit, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. In turn,
US president Joe Biden said we are stepping up, proving that NATO is more
needed now than it ever has been. President Biden also announced an increase
in the USA’s military presence across Europe. NATO promised it would support
Ukraine for as long as it’s necessary, helping this country fend off the
Russian invasion. Secretary Stoltenberg said support to Kyiv is a moral and
political obligation. In a joint statement, NATO members that have already
supplied weapons to Ukraine have agreed on a new type of assistance, consisting
of delivering non-lethal military equipment and strengthening Ukrainian
defense against cyber-attacks.

Russia’s appalling cruelty has caused immense
human suffering and massive displacements, a declaration from the summit in
Madrid reads, blaming Moscow for this humanitarian catastrophe. Ukraine’s
Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, hailed what he described as a strong and
lucid position of NATO towards Russia. Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin paid
his first visit to Central Asia since the start of the conflict, and denounced
the so-called imperial ambitions of NATO, which seeks to assert its
hegemony by means of the war in Ukraine. Putin also claims Russia has no
problem with the impending NATO accession of Sweden and Finland which, after
decades of neutrality, decided to join the Alliance in the wake of the Russian
invasion of Ukraine. (VP)

30 June 2022
NATO’s new strategic concept

The NATO Summit in Madrid is
one of the most important meetings in recent years in terms of the results for
Romania, president Klaus Iohannis said at the end of the first day of the
summit. The president added that discussions and decisions focused on Russia’s
military invasion of neighboring Ukraine, and that the new strategic concept of
NATO, adopted on the sidelines of the summit, truly reflects the security
developments. Therefore, Russia is no longer considered a partner, but rather
the most significant and direct threat to allied security and stability. For
the first time, communist China was accused of using a wide array of political,
economic and military actions in order to expand its influence across the
globe. China’s ambitions and its coercive policies represent a challenge to
NATO’s interests, security and values, NATO leaders say, condemning the
strategic partnership between Beijing and Moscow which, they say, goes against
the international order.

NATO also confirmed the consolidation of its military
presence on the eastern flank, including in Romania. NATO’s rapid response
force will go up from 40,000 to over 300,000 military. This is the biggest
overhaul of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War that will be
agreed at this Summit, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. In turn,
US president Joe Biden said we are stepping up, proving that NATO is more
needed now than it ever has been. President Biden also announced an increase
in the USA’s military presence across Europe. NATO promised it would support
Ukraine for as long as it’s necessary, helping this country fend off the
Russian invasion. Secretary Stoltenberg said support to Kyiv is a moral and
political obligation. In a joint statement, NATO members that have already
supplied weapons to Ukraine have agreed on a new type of assistance, consisting
of delivering non-lethal military equipment and strengthening Ukrainian
defense against cyber-attacks.

Russia’s appalling cruelty has caused immense
human suffering and massive displacements, a declaration from the summit in
Madrid reads, blaming Moscow for this humanitarian catastrophe. Ukraine’s
Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, hailed what he described as a strong and
lucid position of NATO towards Russia. Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin paid
his first visit to Central Asia since the start of the conflict, and denounced
the so-called imperial ambitions of NATO, which seeks to assert its
hegemony by means of the war in Ukraine. Putin also claims Russia has no
problem with the impending NATO accession of Sweden and Finland which, after
decades of neutrality, decided to join the Alliance in the wake of the Russian
invasion of Ukraine. (VP)

30 June 2022
June 29, 2022 UPDATE

NATO -
NATO leaders on Wednesday officially launched the process whereby Sweden and
Finland will join NATO after Turkey lifted its veto on Tuesday evening.
Attending the NATO summit in Madrid, Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis said
NATO leaders agreed to consolidate support for Ukraine by adopting an
assistance package. Additionally, a new strategic concept was adopted ensuring
the main lines of action for the next ten years, the Black Sea being one of the
areas of strategic interest. In the context of the security developments in
Ukraine, NATO will consolidate its long-term deterrence and defense posture on
its eastern flank, something which Romania has insisted on, the president said.
On the other hand, Klaus Iohannis said that NATO leaders agreed to boost their
support for the Alliance’s partners in the eastern vicinity, including the
Republic of Moldova and Georgia, which are the most vulnerable to the current
security threats. Romania has achieved its goals at the NATO summit, president
Iohannis also pointed out.

USA -
The United States will consolidate its presence in Europe in response to the
new threats created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. US President Joe Biden
announced the USA will boost its military presence in Spain, Poland, Romania,
the Baltic States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. On the sidelines of
the NATO summit in Madrid, the White House leader confirmed that the number of
US destroyers deployed to Spain will be increased from four at present to six,
while an additional two squadrons of state-of-the-art F35 fighter jets will be
sent to the United Kingdom. The US will permanently station the U.S. Army V Corps
forward command in Poland and will supplement its forces in Romania by an
additional 5,000 military. President Iohannis said the move will benefit
Romania and the security of the entire region.

ASSISTANCE
– The European Commission has approved a 60.7 million EUR assistance package to
support Romania’s haulers. The measure is targeting all the companies with a
valid community license, which have been affected by the present crisis, caused
by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The aid does not exceed 400 thousand EUR per
enterprise and will be granted until December 2022.

ENERGY
-
Romania can become energy independent and a provider of energy security in the
region as well as a transport corridor for gas and green energy in the Caspian
Sea, the country’s Energy Minister Virgil Popescu said. Together with Prime
Minister Nicolae Ciucă, he participated
on Tuesday in the ceremony occasioned by the beginning of gas exploitation at
Midia, in the Black Sea operated by the Black Sea Oil&Gas. Roughly one
billion cubic meters of gas is expected to be extracted here annually.

POLLUTION
-Bucharest is among
the five most polluted capitals in the European Union, says a report by the
inter-governmental group of experts on climate change. The first four most
polluted capitals are Warsaw, Zagreb, Athens and Sofia. The situation is
influenced by several factors such as traffic. Romania boasts a big fleet of
old cars, with a use average of 17 years, whereas the bloc’s average is of 12
years. Bucharest also is short on green areas with only 7 meters of green space
per capita, whereas the European rate stands at around 18 meters. Another
factor is the city’s gas heating system. (DB & VP)

29 June 2022