The new defense draft strategy
The strategic partnership with the US, as well as NATO and EU membership remain Romania's main foreign and security policy pillars for the coming years
Daniela Budu, 28.05.2020, 14:00
On Wednesday, Romanias Supreme Council of National Defense adopted the defense draft strategy for 2020-2024, which will have to be endorsed by parliament. President Klaus Iohannis stated that the strategy was drawn up against the background of the pandemic, which triggered a deep economic crisis and altered power relations.
According to the head of state, “Romania had to deal with the pandemic within a very tight time-frame, and because of the prospects of a cyclical evolution of the virus, the Romanian state must continue and take the necessary measures, in order to enhance its capacity to manage such a crisis at different levels”.
Klaus Iohannis has also stated that, for the next four years, the countrys National Defense Strategy will operate with the same concept of extended national security, introduced and defined in the previous document. Besides armed defense, the strategy also addresses other dimensions, such as foreign policy, public order, education, health-care, the economy, the environment, energy and cyber security. The head of state has also said that the document is based on the concept of a country which, through strong democratic institutions, protects and defends all its citizens.
Klaus Iohannis: “The new strategy provides answers to essential questions regarding our priority national objectives for ensuring the security of Romania and its citizens and shows what we have to do to achieve them. Public policies in the field of national security will be designed and implemented, with the citizen as the final beneficiary, because every Romanian must feel that they live in a safe environment and have confidence that the institutions defend and protect them.”
The Strategic Partnership with the United States of America, as well as membership of NATO and the European Union are reaffirmed in the document as pillars of the countrys foreign and security policy. The president has said that the National Security Strategy for the next four years entails a new approach, determined by the deteriorating relations between the North Atlantic Alliance and the Russian Federation, the proliferation of terrorism, hybrid and cyber threats.
During the same meeting, the Supreme Council of National Defense analyzed and approved the Romanian Armed Forces that can be made available for participation in missions and operations abroad next year, as well as the program on the transformation, development and endowment of the Romanian army for the coming years and the future. (M.Ignatescu)
