Security and Collaboration with Nato ROMANIA

After the 1989 revolution, Romanias expectation was that

the democratic world to welcome it into the institutions of
the West.The new rulers applied for enrollment in NATO,
European Union or other organisations such as Council of
Europe.
However, Romania soon learned that entry into these
organizations is not easy and the memberships were not
going to be passed out like entitlements
To become a member of these European organisations , it
was fundamental for Romania to establish new and good
relationships with its important neighbors Ukraine and
Hungary. Despite these collaborative efforts, many
Romanians believed their countrys foreign policy goals
would be frustrated by the early accession of Hungary to the
institutions in which Romania sought membership
In February 1997 , Romanian President Emil
Constantinescu has a meeting with the NATO Secretary
General Javier Solana and with the members of the North
Atlantic Council where he reasserts Romanias firm desire to
join NATO. Romanians tryings to be included in NATO
didnt bring it an invitation during the first round of
enlargement. While Romanias integration into NATO was
the theme of tremendous national campaign, discussion of

EU was confined mainly to the level of parliamentary

parties, never reaching the dimensions of authentic public
debate.
Nonetheless, all parliamentary parties have agreed that
Romania should continue to pursue integration into NATO.
It has been argued that Romania cannot count solely on a
European solution to its security problems and cannot make
membership in NATO its only goal.
In the context of the Afghanistan War, NATO and the United
States were impressed by Romanias help when it dispatched
a battalion of troops to the war zone.
Afterwards, on 26 February 2004 the Parliament of
Romania unanimously passes the law on accession to the
NATO and on 1 March 2004 it was promulgated by
President Ion Iliescu. After 3 days, the President signed
Romanias accession instrument to the North Atlantic
Treaty.
NATO and its partners continue to promote and defend
common fundamental values such as democracy, individual
freedom, rule of law, peaceful settlement of conflicts,
openness and transparency but also international cooperation in order to successfully address the challenges of
the new millennium. In order to maintain security of its
Member States, NATO need to operate beyond their borders
removing threats wherever they occur, thereby creating a

safer international environment. One of the most difficult

operations of the Alliance was in Afghanistan under the UN
mandate () the main challenges were represented by the
opposition groups of extremist insurgents, as well as the need
for Afghanistan to increase its level of development, improve
governance, create better equipped and trained armed
forces, establish good neighborly relations with its
neighbors.
Unites States invested in a missile defense site in southern
Romania drawing an angry reaction from Russia. U.S
assistant secretary of state Frank A. Rose stated that
Russia has repeatedly raised concerns that the US and
NATO defense are directed against Russia and represent a
threat to its strategic nuclear detterent. Nothing could be
further from the truth
Our geographical area South Eastern Europe starts to
become vulnerable to threats posed by short and medium
range missiles. Furthermore, Romania has the best strategic
position for hosting the land - based interceptors of the
Southern component of the EPAA1.

1 European Phased Adaptive Approach is centered on the Aegis missile defense

system and is being deployed in three phases from 2011 to 2018.

The development of the Deveselu site began in 2013, after

the initial decision by NATO three years ago to create a
missile shield based on US technology.
Making the missile defense system operational as soon as
possible will increase the national security, both directly, by
protecting the national territory, and indirectly, by dettering
such risks.
Romanias willingness to host the missile defense system puts
landlocked Moldova between a rock and a hard place since
its relations with Romania have been in doubt ever since
Moldova declared its independence in 1991.
To conclude, the missile defense project which includes to
build sites also in Poland was expected to be completed in
2020.
Nato insists the role of the planned shield is a purely
defensive responsal to external threats.
To sum up, for Romania to join the North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation on March 2004, represented a major step, with
firm influence on the foreign and domestic policy of the
country.

Bibliography
Gale A. Mattox, Arthur R. Rachwald (2001). Enlarging NATO: the
national debates. Colorado: Lynne Rienne Publishers, Inc.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/ro-foreignrelations-nato.htm
http://www.mae.ro/en/node/2162?page=2
https://www.rt.com/usa/romanias-host-us-missiles/