Discurs

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

It gives me great pleasure to be with you today in Bucharest on the occasion of the 57^th session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

This meeting, scheduled between two important NATO summits, gives us the opportunity to talk about issues of real interest for our Alliance.

As we all remember, it was in the context of the 2008 Bucharest Summit and the Summits that followed, when NATO recognized the important role the Parliamentary Assembly has in promoting common principles and values.

I strongly believe that preserving national consensus on issues pertaining to NATO remains an important achievement. I would also like to use this opportunity to thank our distinguished Romanian…

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

It gives me great pleasure to be with you today in Bucharest on the occasion of the 57^th session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

This meeting, scheduled between two important NATO summits, gives us the opportunity to talk about issues of real interest for our Alliance.

As we all remember, it was in the context of the 2008 Bucharest Summit and the Summits that followed, when NATO recognized the important role the Parliamentary Assembly has in promoting common principles and values.

I strongly believe that preserving national consensus on issues pertaining to NATO remains an important achievement. I would also like to use this opportunity to thank our distinguished Romanian parliamentarians, especially my good friend Sever Voinescu, members of this august body, for the continued support they extend to Romania’s involvement in NATO’s missions and projects.

Soon, the Romanian Parliament will be called upon to ratify the Agreement  on the Deployment of the US Ballistic Missile System in Romania recently signed in Washington, which represents a significant step towards enhancing the security of both Romania and the US.

As we have previously underlined several times, Romania considers the Missile Defence facilities in our country to be an important contribution to and a part of the future NATO Missile Defence System. We view this not only as a strategic project, but as one dedicated to the future of the Alliance. We are determined to work with other Allies in order to make the MD project one of the main deliverables in the Chicago Summit next year.

In this context, the ratification by the Romanian Parliament of the Agreement will allow its entry into force hopefully by the end of this year, thus sending a clear message to all of our Allies and partners that Romania is determined to contribute substantially to the Alliance’s security.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

MD is the expression of a renewed transatlantic link that will make NATO stronger and better adapted to the challenges of the present. Romania supports a robust and relevant Alliance based on a rock-solid transatlantic partnership. The political bonds between the two sides of the Atlantic should be consolidated by the development of NATO’s capabilities necessary for the Alliance to perform its duties and missions, especially the ISAF.

Romania’s contribution to the International Community’s efforts in Afghanistan is significant and will adapt according to the developments on the ground. There are more than 1.900 Romanian soldiers on the ground as we speak .

I do believe that a  prerequisite for success in Afghanistan is acting in accordance with the “in together, out together” principle.

It is of paramount importance for the process of transition to be solid and irreversible. However, we should make sure that the transition is conditions-based and not calendar-driven. Also, as transition proceeds, it is important that ISAF-troops and other resources made available are reinvested to meet the needs in other critical security areas in Afghanistan, where insurgent activities are still intense, for instance in the Southern part of Afghanistan.

In order to ensure the succes of the process of transition, it is neccesary to continue our efforts of training the Afghan Security Forces. Romania has been contributing to this task since May 2011, when a first group of 66 officers of our Gendarmerie arrived on the ground in Afghanistan and are now involved in the process of instructing their Afghan counterparts.

At the same time, we are looking forward to the debates and results of the International Conference on Afghanistan to be held in Bonn, this December. 

During the past months, our Alliance also faced the challenging of responding to the events unfolding in Libya, which served to prove that there is still a large degree of unpredictability of threats and challenges and therefore we need to maintain a wide spectrum of military capabilities. We consider NATO’s action in Libya to be a succes, both from the point of view of the operation, the objectives which were set and the results. It also represents the first operation launched after the adoption of the New Strategic Concept.

At this point, we need to have a deeper evaluation of the lessons learned, starting with the ways in which early warning systems function and reaching the interaction with the partners in operations.

The underlying principles for launching the operation in Libya are still valid for the decision on the post-conflict role of NATO. At the same time we need to look into the future, to see the concrete ways in which NATO can contribute to supporting the new Libya. The Alliance’s role, consistent with the provisions of the UN Security Council resolution 2009 from 16 September 2011, should be in support of the UN-led assistance mission for the transition and reconstruction process in Libya..

Closer to home, Romania supports the continued efforts by NATO and other players to stabilizing the Western Balkans. Romania wants to see a South-Eastern Europe whose future is anchored in the stable, established democratic institutions of the Euro-Atlantic area.

Together we can facilitate the shaping of long-term stability in this region through our firm commitment to this perspective and through support for the reforms undertaken by the neighbouring partners.

Romania continues to maintain its military contribution to KFOR. The Allies need to constantly ensure that the role of NATO in Kosovo is kept in line with its mandate and that they are keeping the status neutral of KFOR and EULEX.

The Black Sea region, as a part of Europe and a bridge to the Caucasus and Central Asia and Afghanistan, is another important area for Euro-Atlantic stability. Therefore, Romania will contribute to developing ways in which NATO can encourage the efforts of riparian states to enhance regional security.  

We want to see a robust partnership for cooperation with the countries in the Caucasus and the Central Asia, which would also enhance NATO’s capacity to carry out its mission in Afghanistan.

Within the Black Sea region Romania is a strong supporter of the reform of the partnership policy and reaffirms the importance of maintaining “the open-door policy” of our Alliance.

Joining the Euro-Atlantic structures does not mean repositioning a country from one region to another or giving up traditional regional links. New members can and should strengthen their ties with neighbors, be they in South East Europe or in the East.

Romania highly values NATO’s role in providing stability, as a promoter of reforms and regional cooperation in our neighbourhood. Geographically and historically Romania is well situated to promote trans-atlantic values and goals in the neighboring regions.

We are firm in considering that the Euro-Atlantic frontier, based on democracy, freedom and security should not stop at the Alliance’s Eastern border.

Romania has been and will continue to be a strong and active advocate of strengthening the partnership with the Republic of Moldova, thus consolidating its commitment to the European path.  

We believe it is important to keep the Ukraine engaged and on track of cooperation and reforms, according to its own interest and NATO’s values and democratic principles. At the same time, we hope that NATO-Russia Partnership will become a strategic Partnership.  We consider that this objective can be fullfiled when the principles which constitute the grounds of the NATO-Russia relationship will be respected unequivocally. Romania supports a realistic approach, with concrete steps adapted to the requirements of cooperation. We consider the MD project not as a challenge, but rather as an opportunity for NATO – Russia cooperation, which could – if done in proper terms – increase the level of confidence between partners and benefit European security as a whole.

NATO’s partnerships with the EU and the UN ensure cooperation on matters of common interest and contribute significantly to countering the threats and challenges to international security.

As Romania is a NATO and EU member, a network partnering in doing good is the first idea that comes to mind. We have consistently supported the strenghtening of dialogue and cooperation between NATO and the EU, in as many areas of common interest as possible, while respecting the specificity and autonomy of decision of each of the two organizations. Though these days it seems that this is not the case anymore, I still believe in positive impact on security of the democratic values. Maybe we should rediscover some of the ideas of those more optimistic days. NATO and EU member states should continue making these values the foundation of our partnerships with the countries and organizations in the Euro-Atlantic area.

It’s becoming obvious that in these moments of economic crisis, states should be more receptive to identifying new ways of working together in order to build security with less resources. Therefore, Romania supports the concept of smart defense launched by NATO’s Secretary General.

Romania recognises the difficulty in developing and implementing strategies on cyber defence, especially in the context of budgetary constraints and of the gap between capabilities of NATO’s members. Still, we express a special interest in this issue and we support an effective engagement in implementing the Action Plan. We recognize that a closer cooperation with the EU in this field will be desirable, bearing in mind the neccesity of avoiding the duplication of efforts.

In the view of the NATO Summit in Chicago, we will need your support, the support of the national parliaments, for resources and for explaining to our citizens the importance of a strong Alliance, in order to ensure that the aspects outlined today can be turned into deliverables.

Ladies and gentlemen,

With your support, I am sure that our NATO PA will continue to play its part in ensuring that the Alliance will succeed in dealing with the new security challenges our countries are facing.

Thank you!