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Romania's Defence Minister Mihai Fifor said on Thursday he agreed with British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson to continue bilateral consultations and strategic dialogue on topics of mutual interest for the implementation of bilateral projects and the development of defence co-operation.
"I have unveiled Romania's priorities for the time it holds the presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019 that will focus on a follow-up to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) initiatives such as the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) and the European Defense Fund (EDF)," Fifor said after a meeting with his British counterpart.
Fifor pointed out that he and Williamson identified common positions on the long-term military, political and organisational adaptation of NATO and also on strengthening an effective deterrence and defence posture to counter threats to NATO security, irrespective of their source, in line with the agreements at the latest NATO summit.
"Thus, we have reconfirmed our commitment to implementing a consistent approach to [NATO's enhanced forward] position in terms of planning, command and control, capabilities and exercises, while preserving the nature of the enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) and the tailored Forward Presence (tFP). At the same time, following the recognition at the recent summit of Romania's offer to host a land component command, I have requested our partners to build on the experience gained by the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) which headquarters are hosted by the UK to provide us with support in the process of commissioning this future capability to contribute to the architecture of a coherent command and control structure for NATO's south-east flank," said Fifor.
He expressed his gratitude for UK's support and for the British Armed Forces participation in the implementation of the tailored Forward Presence.
"Thank you once again, Mr Secretary of Defense, for securing support for making operational the two NATO command and control bodies on Romania's soil by taking up positions in the Multinational Division South-East (MND-SE) and the NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU)," Fifor said.
He underscored the excellent navy collaboration between Romania and the UK, and praised the UK for the presence of British vessels in the Black Sea as part of the "Standing NATO Maritime Group" - SNMG.
"I believe that the presence of our strategic allies sends a very strong signal, a message of solidarity, and it is also a guarantee of security in the region," said Fifor.
He noted that ways to strengthen co-operation in international organisations were also discussed to ensure a security climate in the wider Black Sea area taking into account the developments on the southern flank generated by the crisis in Syria and the refugee crisis.
"With an emphasis on the security situation in the vicinity of Romania, we mentioned the political and military aggression of the Russian Federation and its intention to militarise the Black Sea by increasing the military forces in the region and deploying new capabilities, potentially predominantly offensive ones of all types of army branches. The Russian Federation's efforts are focused on hybrid tactics and actions to undermine the internal stability of both the ex-soviet states and the neighbouring NATO states, fueling the so-called 'frozen conflicts.' Having outlined such a picture, there is a clear need for a consistent, co-ordinated and unitary approach in political and operational terms to deter any escalation of potential conflicts and to maintain a security climate in the Black Sea region," Fifor said.
He reiterated his appreciation for the presence of the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft of the British Royal Air Force and of approximately 160 troops deployed at the military base of Mihail Kogalniceanu performing enhanced air policing missions May 1- August 31.
"Today, we will visit together the British contingent at the Mihail Kogalniceanu base, and I will use the occasion to thank the British military personally for their professionalism and dedication to fulfilling their missions," said Fifor.
