Euro-Atlantic security

The USs budget for Central and Eastern Europe may increase four times.

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Roxana Vasile, 04.02.2016, 13:39

The US army is currently faced with five challenges:
Russia’s aggression in Europe, China’s position in the Asia Pacific region,
North Korea, Iran and the actions of the Islamic State terrorist organisation.
In other words, the current world security background has changed dramatically
compared with 25 years ago, and it requires a totally different approach, as
the US Secretary of Defence, Ashton Carter, has recently stated. To reflect
this change, the US may allocate 582.7 billion dollars for defence next year.
Under the European Reassurance Initiative, the US may also allocate four times
more money, up to 3.4 billion dollars, to Central and Eastern Europe, Estonia
and Romania in particular.

The fact that NATO and the US are paying close
attention to Russia’s actions in the Middle East does not diminish the
attention paid to Ukraine. The annexation, two years ago, of the Crimean
Peninsula and Russia’s support for the pro-Russian rebels in the east of
Ukraine have already boosted the US and NATO presence in Eastern Europe. It is
envisaged that the Pentagon will deploy an additional 3,000 to 5,000 troops in
the area. The US Army newspaper Stars and Stripes reads, quoting a US defence
official, that heavy armament and vehicles will also be stationed in Europe.

In Bucharest, the Romanian Government has hailed the
US’s intention to earmark additional funds for its presence in Europe. The
Romanian Foreign Ministry believes that increasing the defence budget four
times is evidence of the US’s strong commitment to discouraging risk factors in
the area and of a robust American military presence in Europe. The US’s
decision has been hailed by the head of the Presidential Office, Dan Mihalache,
who, alongside the Romanian Ambassador to the US, George Cristian Maior, had
talks in Washington with Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence James Townsend
and the Senior Director for European Affairs at the US National Security
Council Charles Kupchan.

The excellent relations between Romania and the US
and their importance with regard to regional stability were demonstrated by the
activation, last year in Bucharest, of the NATO Multinational Division
Southeast. Also, the antimissile defence shield in Deveselu, in southern
Romania, was rendered technically operational in December 2015. According to
presidential advisor Dan Mihalache, Bucharest expects this year’s NATO summit
in Warsaw to send a strong signal regarding NATO’s interest in the central and
east-European area, and also in the Black Sea. The US’s decision to increase
the defence budget for Europe is already considerable proof of this interest.