The fundamental objective of the Romanian Defence Ministry (MapN) in 2009 was to continue the transformation of the military in order to turn it into a deployable and sustainable modern force that will be able to act in a wider range of missions, both at home and abroad.

This objective entailed focusing human and material resources on successfully following the established guidelines, Defence Minister Gabriel Oprea told an activity report meeting on Friday of the MApN.
‘MApN’s main objectives in 2009 were continuing to achieve the objectives in the second stage of the strategy for transforming the Romanian Armed Forces at the same time with meeting the military commitments taken before NATO and the European Union, as well as joining in the world efforts to combat terrorism.

We can safely say that these have beneficially contributed to the consolidation of Romania’s place and role within the NATO and the EU member states and proved Romania is able to be a security and stability provider,’ said Oprea.
He added that the defence policy, defence planning and international cooperation in the area of defence were mainly focused on coordinating the transformation of the Romanian Armed Forces in line with the similar process carried out within the North-Atlantic Alliance and the European Union, at the same time with meeting the defence obligations taken before the world community.

‘The political and military guidelines were grounded in the national defence legislation , the Government programme, the provisions in the National Defence Strategy included in the strategic documents approved within the North-Atlantic Alliance and the European Union. We have pledged to achieve a credible defence force that will be able to achieve the force objectives planned by NATO and to meet the military commitments pledged to the world,’ said Oprea.

In relation to collective defence planning, Romania has committed itself to make available to NATO and the EU, in stages, a single force package, currently comprising nearly 11,000 troops, or 25 percent of the distributed forces, that include fighting units, fight support units and logistics units.
‘Developing forces of a high fighting capability, particularly those of immediate reaction, was a top priority that met the new concept of the NATO response forces.

International defence cooperation was aimed at promoting national interests, getting Romania connected to the world security and stability efforts, at the same time with developing bilateral and multilateral partnerships. Special attention was attached to relations with NATO and EU member states, as well as with countries in the enlarged Black Sea zone and the Western Balkans.
Increased attention was also attached to developing regional defence cooperation initiatives and assistance to South-East Europe, South Caucasus and Moldova,’ said Oprea.

In relation to the operational capabilities of the Romanian Armed Forces, Oprea mentioned that the central MApN structures were resized and restructured in 2009, with 20 percent of the functions having been cut and 121 units having been structurally modified.
Within NATO, Oprea added, Romania pledged to participate in the establishment of a strategic transport unit, achieving an anti-missile defence system, a ground surveillance system, a defence against cybercrime system and securing NATO intelligence superiority.

At the same time, MapN continued to participate in the EU missions and actions, adopting measures to support crisis management operations, increasing contribution to the development of defence capabilities, by getting involved in the programmes and initiatives of the European Defence Agency.

He added that participation in foreign missions was a main vector for asserting Romania’s place among the world’s providers of stability and security, with the main efforts having been channeled into training and supporting the troops deployed in theatres of operations, particularly as part of the NATO mission in Afghanistan and of the international coalition in Iraq.

‘At the end of 2009, there were 1,391 Romanian troops deployed in various theatres of operations. In meeting its commitments, Romania contributed 3,618 troops the year long according to planned tours to operations carried out by NATO, the European Union, as part of the coalition against terrorism and also under the UN aegis.

The Romanian troops conducted a wide range of security, stability and reconstruction missions, winning praise in the theatres of operation for professionalism and camaraderie. The year 2009 witnessed the successful completion of Romania’s six-year involvement in the Iraqi theatre of operations.
All along our presence there, we proved ourselves to be a trustworthy partner, having exemplarily carried out all the missions entrusted to us,’ Oprea concluded.