President Iohannis: North-Atlantic Alliance made strengthening of regional, global security possible

The North-Atlantic Alliance has made it possible to strengthen security at the regional and global level and create the conditions for the complementarity of the activities carried out together with the European Union in areas of common interest for the two international organizations, reads a message delivered on Sunday by President Klaus Iohannis on the occasion of the NATO Day.

"Romania celebrates the NATO Day on the first Sunday of April. 71 years ago, based on the common values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law, countries on both sides of the Atlantic started an ambitious, unseen project. The founding states of the Alliance assumed thus the responsibility and indivisibility of Euro-Atlantic security. NATO has also proven over time its extraordinary ability to adapt and evolve, essential features for an organization that faces both classic threats and hybrid threats, coming from multiple strategic directions. The North-Atlantic Alliance has made it possible to strengthen security at the regional and global level and create the conditions for the complementarity of the activities carried out together with the European Union in areas of common interest for the two international organizations," the President said in his message.

In his view, the transatlantic relationship is an essential element in supporting solidarity and allied cohesion.

"The US commitment enhances the consistency and credibility of the collective defence efforts of the member states of the Alliance and strengthens the European security, which faces significant challenges, especially in the Eastern area. In the current difficult conditions created by the COVID - 19 pandemic, which covered the whole globe, with the most serious consequences, NATO has taken rapid and resolute measures to limit the spreading of the virus and to reduce the risks to the military and civilians so that the Alliance can carry out its essential missions safely. It is vital, in the coming period, for NATO to be able to focus on the other threats and challenges, dynamic or latent," added Iohannis.

He states that our country will continue to act coherently and convergently, along with the other allies, in order for the organization to remain strong and successful.

"We have in Romania, in Bucharest and Craiova, fully operational NATO structures - the NATO Force Integration Unit, the Multinational Division Southeast headquarters and the Multinational Brigade Southeast - which strengthen the Alliance's deterrence and defence posture in the Black Sea region and on the Eastern flank as a whole. To these NATO structures, there will also be added a land command and control capability at corps-level, which Romania has offered at the 2018 Summit of the Alliance in Brussels. We participate in the NATO operations and missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Western Balkans, and our troops enjoy the full appreciation of the Allies and the NATO leadership, and we also contribute to strengthening the security on NATO's Eastern flank within the battle group in Poland that materializes the enhanced forward presence. (...) Without a doubt, the profound crisis caused by the pandemic will be a test including for NATO, which will have to show greater cohesion and resilience, to the benefit of the Member States and of global security. The need for a strong, united and efficient North Atlantic Alliance is greater today than ever," said the head of state.