The national legislatures of the countries making up the Bucharest Format (B9) have an essential role to play in the equitable sharing of burdens inside NATO, especially because of their specific part in approving budgets to support a more ambitious common defence and security approach, Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday in the opening speech at the first B9 parliamentary summit.
“We start from the generic responsibility of the parliamentary dimension inside the NATO countries – to secure the bond between the political class and society, for optimal reporting of NATO’s political agenda to the most pressing needs and expectations of the public in the allied states, a public that wishes more security. The national parliaments of the B9 countries have an essential role to play in the equitable sharing of the burdens inside NATO, especially because of their specific part in approving budgets to support a more ambitious common defence and security approach,” said Iohannis.
He underscored that Romania’s commitment to allocate 2 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for defence spending starting in 2017 highlights the importance of effective collaboration among all institutional actors – the President, Parliament and the Government.
“Taking up and preserving this commitment was made on my own initiative at the beginning of my term of office, with the agreement of all the parties represented in Parliament. I believe that this is a concrete and positive example of how all the bodies of a NATO member state must act to respect the commitments pledged for its own security and also for the security of the whole Euro-Atlantic area,” Iohannis said.
He mentioned that the sharing of security benefits comes with the sharing of burdens and that this principle must be understood by the society as a whole, in which context the essential role of the national parliaments occurs.
“Indeed, parliaments are best placed to explain to their own public the benefits and responsibilities derived from NATO membership,” Iohannis pointed out.
According to the president, the B9 format has been strengthened in a very useful informal security dialogue platform among NATO’s eastern flank countries, which have also become beneficiaries of allied deterrence and active contributors to Euro-Atlantic security in its entirety.
The head of state added that the NATO summit in Brussels this year will mark a new stage in the process of adapting the alliance to the current security challenges and threats. He pointed out that, in preparation for this meeting, the summit of the Bucharest format in Warsaw this June, which he will co-chair with the President of Poland, Andrei Duda, will play a very important role.
“In this context, the full implementation of the decisions we adopted at the NATO summits in Wales and Warsaw is a priority. We will have to continue to argue that the allied presence across the entire eastern flank, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, should be unitary, consistent and efficient to serve the purpose of strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defense posture. Romania firmly supports NATO’s initiatives that help achieve this goal. In addition to these efforts, NATO’s eastern and southern partners should continue to receive the attention and support of NATO to strengthen their resilience, and we also support initiatives to address the threats in the southern neighbourhood of the Euro-Atlantic area, including by increasing the role of NATO in countering terrorism,” the head of state said.
Iohannis said that Romania strongly supports the development of the partnership between NATO and the European Union.
“I trust that at this year’s NATO Summit we will reiterate by concrete actions and decisions the unity and solidarity of the allies, as well as the value of a strong transatlantic relationship. I am convinced that the decisions we will adopt in Brussels in July will make NATO a stronger alliance, and Romania will remain the same ally and trustworthy, responsible partner, fully committed to NATO projects to strengthening regional and international security,” Iohannis said.
Speaker Dragnea: National Parliament of B9 states have to play specific role in security and defence area
The national Parliaments of the B9 member countries have to play a specific role in the defence and security area, as institutions with a specific role, Speaker of the Deputies’ Chamber Liviu Dragnea stated on the occasion of the B9 Summit at parliamentary level .
“It’s the first parliamentary summit in the B9 format and I am convinced that we will extract useful conclusions from our dialogue regarding the current security threats and challenges. Our contribution, that of the MPs, is absolutely necessary, especially, taking into account the rapidity with which the security environment in which we live and its unpredictability is changing. The development of the security environment is being made though a comprehensive, but, at the same time, nuanced approach. This implies a unitary understanding of this phenomenon’s diversity, only this way we can act together in order to maintain our security. The B9 is not a form of regionalising security. It doesn’t aim to create groups of interest inside NATO or the EU, but it is a method to coagulate the specific contribution of the participating countries and the experience, and the expertise, as well as the capacity to use, as efficiently as possible, the mechanisms and resources at their disposal,” Speaker Dragnea stated.
According to him, from its launching, the B9 format produced positive results, proving its added value and the high degree of relevance within the security environment.
“I appreciate the opportunity offered now to continue the debates of the foreign affairs ministers in the B9 format of the last autumn, as well as that of the defence ministers in March of this year. (…) I hail once again the launching of the parliamentary dimension of this format, because the national parliaments that have a specific connection with the citizens have to play a specific role as institutions with significant responsibilities in the security and defence area, Parliament substantially contributes to ensuring the adoption of the necessary decisions on international level. Moreover, Parliaments promote vital security instruments and help to achieve a common understanding of the security aspects, taking into account that we all should adapt to the current strategic realities. In this context, I want to reconfirm that Romania’s Government grants full support to the group activities regarding the national security. The best example is the commitment on continuing to earmark two percent of the GDP to Defence. This budget allows the Government to fulfill Romania’s commitments inside NATO regarding the funds, contributions and capabilities. It also allows the continuation of our endowment programmes in the defence sector and the fulfillment of armed forces’ mission both on national and international level. The most important thing in allocating two percent of the GDP to Defence allows us to prepare for unpredictable situations, given the developments of the security environment in the eastern flank of the Alliance,” Liviu Dragnea said.
He underscored that the organisation of the B9 summit provides the opportunity to convey a unitary and coherent message regarding the strengthening of the eastern flank of NATO in preparing the NATO Summit in Brussels, in July 2018.
The main topics under debate today, says Speaker Liviu Dragnea, correspond to the main problems that our countries, as well as NATO and the EU are confronted with.
“The observance of the international legislation in the security area is a necessity, breaching it seriously affects the security balance and our capacity to act as suppliers of security. We fully endorse NATO’s ongoing adaptation process to the current challenges. W have to be prepared to ensure the defence of our territories and nations. Romania, as a framework nation of the advanced presence on the southern side of the eastern flank, endorses a coherent and unitary action of all allies and partners, Romania grants a major significance to implementing the decisions taken in the Warsaw Summit for strengthening the defence and deterrence measures on the eastern flank of the Alliance, including in the Black Sea area. We believe that the profile of the Black Sea region is essentially to NATO agenda,” the Speaker of the Deputies’ Chamber underscored.
Liviu Dragnea stressed that, from Romania’s view, the increase of presence in the Black Sea area has a special importance, which has been achieved so far through a series of measures aimed at boosting the cooperation on the land, air and sea.
“Furthermore, against the backdrop of the substantial changes of the security environment, Romania believes that it is necessary to intensify NATO’s efforts to strengthen the naval security, in view of transforming the maritime basins from the borders of the Black Sea – the Mediterranean Sea and the Baltic Sea into a stability zone. A strong transatlantic tie remains essential of the Euro-Atlantic security. We hail the enhanced military commitment of the US regarding the security and defence of Europe, including the significant increase of funding for 2018 of the European Deterrence Initiative. The future NATO Summit represent an occasion to reconfirm the solidarity of the transatlantic tie and the determination of all allies to act in unity and in a decisive manner in order to respond to all current threats regardless of where they are coming from. Romania’s goals should aim at the unitary approach of components destined to strengthening the defence and deterrence posture for the eastern flank, the development of some concrete command and control commitments for the advanced allied presence in the region, the increase of the allied military presence in the Black Sea, the strengthening of defence on the entire European continent through developing some series of strategies regarding the deployment of the Alliance’s forces and capabilities. (…) Managing the current security environment, marked by a high degree of predictability, requires a major parliamentary support. From this perspective, the parliamentary talks on the extended issues tackled during this summit will contribute to the strengthening of a shared understanding of the mutual interest topics, but also to harmonising our positions and establish future approaches,” Liviu Dragnea added.