Former President Klaus Iohannis sent three letters to joint Permanent Parliament Bureaus

Joint permenent Parliament bureaus received three letters in which former president Klaus Iohannis inform the Parliament about a series of activities referring to Romania's partnership with NATO and certain military operations and missions for 2025.   In his first letter, Klaus Iohannis informs the Parliament that he had approved, after consulting the Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT), the entrance and stationing of a NATO-ARF answer/reaction force in Romania or the transit of the national territory by them.   “Recent evolutions of international security forces proved that they are characterized by volatility and impredictibility, a fact that asks for a quick, adequate answer, in the shortest reaction time, to risks and threats against national and Euroatlantic security. The Vilnius Summit of 2023 decided on the Concept of discouraging and defense in the Euroatlantic area, which establishes military activities and discouraging objectives in times of peace, as well as military activities and defense objectives in situations of crisis and conflict. In this framework, the response/reaction force (ARF) represents the new NATO force model, offering multi-field NATO forces to produce effects with a shorter notification that it was possible before,”the first document shows.   In this context, when premises for the beginning of a major security crisis, with possible implications on Romania's national independence and sovereignty, the North-Atlantic Council can decide to deploy the NATO response/reaction in Romania, next to forces provided in the Regional South-Eastern Plan, in order to defuse the crisis and discourage its escalation. According to the provisions of response plans in crisis situations applied at Alliance level, the deployment of NATO ARF response/reaction force in Romania can also include this force or some parts of it, supplemented with command-control and support elements established on the spot, considering the size, tyoe and particularities of the work, as part of the operational planning process at strategic and operational level displayed at the level of Alliance headquarters, the letter shows.   In the second document, Klaus Iohannis informs Parliament that it approved, with CSAT consent, carrying out instruction activities and exercises with the Italian partner, including the position of an Italian force contingent for special operations with the military equipment they have.   “In the last two years, cooperation between Special Operations Forces of the Romanian Army and those of Italy have intensified, the number of joint activities growing significantly, with beneficial results on the development of capabilities and ensuring the interoperability of forces. Based on cooperaton relations between the two commands of Special Ops Forces, the suggestion to consolidate interoperability through the permanent deployment in Romania of a special ops force contingent was approved as of January 2025, as a nucleus of a Special Ops Land Group. The presence of the Italian force contingent for special operations will allow the harmonization of training procedures and identifying concrete cooperation means on the interoperability of special ops structures of the Romanian Army and Italy and will consolidate bilateral cooperation”, the former president's letter shows.   In the third letter, Klasu Iohannis informs Romania's Parliament that he approved forces and means of the Romanian Army and the Interior Ministry which are sent abroad in 2025.   “According to provisions of the National defense strategy of the country and political-military instructions in force, Romania's armed forces will participate in missions and operations abroad , collective defense within NATO, ensuring security of EU member states, the promotion of regional and global stability and security, as well as in cooperation in view of fighting international terrorism and that of violent extremist groups. Main efforts will have in view the participation in missions in the West Balkan area (KFOR under NATO aegis and EUROFOR ALTHEA under EU aegis), by using reserve forces waiting on Romanian land, in the context of assuming the command of EUFOR ALTHEA force, the contribution to measures implementing allied posts of collective discouragement and defense within NATO Battle Group of Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria, the deployment of a aircraft detachment within the integrated NATO air and anti-missile defense devices on the Eastern flanc by consolidating air police capacity in Lithuania/Poland, the document shows.   The strategic transport of forces and means in and from operation theatres is made by using resources allocated for transport capabilities through the NATO strategic air transport capacities (from Papa, Hungary air base) as well as through other resources requested, based on the understandings and accords signed.   The three letters were sent to the defense commissions in Parliament and will be included in the agenda of a joint Parliament plenum session, most likely on Friday.