December 1, 2015

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 01.12.2015, 14:13

Over 2,600 troops and
military specialists, with 360 technical devices, paraded in Bucharest on
December 1st, Romania’s National Day. As a first, the parade was joined by a
detachment from the theater of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some of the
attractions of the parade were the armored vehicles, the Hercules and Spartan
fighters and the helicopters. Also, this year the traditional parade of the
Romanian army was joined by troops from the Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria, the
US, Poland and Turkey. Romania’s national day is celebrated not only in
Bucharest, but everywhere in the country, and also at the Romanian diplomatic
missions around the world, through concerts, exhibitions, film screenings and
receptions. December 1st became Romania’s National Day after the anti-communist
Revolution of 1989, and marks the completion in 1918 of the process of setting
up the Romanian unitary state, by aggregating under Bucharest’s authority all
the provinces with predominantly Romanian-speaking populations from the neighboring
multi-national empires.

This year’s December 1st
could mark a new beginning for Romania, with regard to its common practices,
behaviors and mentalities, said in a message to Romanians President Klaus Iohannis, who also stressed
the fact that a new beginning was necessary in Romanian politics. According to
the Romanian head of state, a new beginning would entail new ideas, new
approaches and new behaviors, while at the same time maintaining the stability
and balance of the Romanian political system. December 1st is not
just a celebration of the past, it’s an opportunity for Romania to focus more
on the present, on its place in Europe and the world. In a world in which war
and terror seem to have gained significant ground, Romania is a provider of
certainty and predictability, thanks to its democratic values and its solid
partnerships within the EU and NATO, the president also said in his message.
After the parade, Iohannis had a videoconference with the soldiers deployed in
theatres of operations abroad. Today he will take part in several ceremonies on
Romania’s National Day. Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos too has sent a message to
all Romanians, both in the country and abroad, urging them to join efforts and
help make Romania a better country, a country ruled on the basis of such
principles as decency and transparency.

The US Secretary of State,
John Kerry, has extended congratulations to the Romanian people, on behalf of
President Barack Obama, on Romania’s National Day, pleading at the same time
for even tighter relations between Romania and the US. According to a
communiqué issued by the US Department of State, John Kerry recalls that 2015
marks the celebration of 135 years since the beginning of diplomatic relations
between the US and Romania, countries united by a friendship built on their
joint commitment to promoting democracy and the rule of law, to ensuring
citizens’ prosperity, through solid trading relations and investments, as well
as to securing a free and united Europe. The US Secretary of State has stated
that the US is proud its soldiers have participated in missions alongside their
Romanian mates, driven by the same goal of defending freedom and justice in
various parts of the world.

On
Tuesday and Wednesday, the Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu is
attending in Brussels the summit of the NATO Foreign Ministers. The two-day
agenda includes a NATO meeting and a working dinner, a meeting devoted to
Afghanistan, in the ‘Resolute Support Mission format’, as well as the proceedings
of the NATO – Ukraine Commission. According to a release by the Romanian
Foreign Ministry, the talks will focus on the security situation in NATO’s
western and southern neighborhoods, as well as NATO’s strategic prospects of
adjustment to the current threats and risk factors. Also, NATO’s ‘open doors’
policy will be discussed, and the foreign ministers will have to make a
decision on Montenegro’s joining the Alliance. On the summit’s sidelines,
minister Comanescu will have meetings with the NATO Secretary General Jens
Stoltenberg and with counterparts from the NATO member and partner states.

The Command unit of the NATO
Multinational Division Southeast has been officially activated in Bucharest
today. The setting up of this NATO control structure follows the activation in
September of the NATO Force Integration Unit. The two structures will ensure a
visible and consistent NATO presence in Romania and will play a key-role in
ensuring the connection between the national and the allied forces. In another
move, the Pentagon has announced that some 70 US military pieces of equipment
will arrive in Romania today, from Germany. Other pieces will be shipped in
late December to Bulgaria and Lithuania. Early this year, during a visit to
Estonia, the US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced that the US would
temporary station vehicles and pieces of equipment in Central and Eastern
Europe, sufficient to support an armored brigade. Their deployment would
facilitate the rotation of the US forces in the region and their participation
in exercises and training missions.