Bucharest: NATO Chief Says Alliance Could Improve Energy Security (Nov 17, 2006)

Nov 17, 2006 (Romania Report according to RFE/RL and Nine o’Clock)

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Romania's President Traian Basescu yesterday (Nov 16) said that the Western military alliance would be able, if requested, to take up additional tasks, such as boosting energy security for member states.

De Hoop Scheffer, who met with Basescu in Bucharest, said the subject of energy security would be discussed at the next NATO Summit on November 28-29 in Riga, the capital of Estonia.

De Hoop Scheffer described "the free flow of energy" as "an important element in NATO's strategic concept" and said "I would like, very much, to see the heads of state and government in Riga making a declaration that NATO is going to look for this added value [in energy security discussions]."

Basescu has called for the resolution of the frozen post-Soviet conflicts in Georgia, Moldova and Azerbaijan, which he says pose a threat to the security of Europe's energy supplies, as many oil and gas pipelines pass through the area.

NATO Secretary-General also said that Romania was a strong ally, a country that had made military and political contributions to the missions of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, being very much an example to follow by other states. ‘Romania is a good example and I cannot say the same when I go to all the allied capital cities’, Scheffer said.

In his opinion, the extensive policy conducted in the Western Balkans must also include Serbia. Scheffer indicated that Serbia knew what it needed to do to meet the NATO requirements. ‘I encourage Serbia in that respect. I hope Serbia will let us include it to this extensive policy’, said the NATO Secretary General.

‘We have discussed the importance of strengthening existing partnerships and closing new ones, as well as of improving the dialogue with other countries. We also discussed the NATO operations, mainly in Kosovo and Afghanistan, and the situation in the western Balkans, said Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

President Basescu stated that he believed that one of the issues on the agenda of the NATO Summit in Riga, end of the month, could also be ‘NATO taking security risks, including the one related to energy security’. He pointed out that he publicly addressed this topic last week in connection with the EU energy security, three days before an analysis in the ‘Financial Times’ by NATO experts, but that there was no connection between his statement and the cited press report.



Romania’s ForMin Ungureanu pleads for NATO-EU cooperation in Western Balkans, Black Sea region

At the Foreign Ministry, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer discussed with ForMin Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu about what Romania is expecting from NATO. Romania continues to insist that NATO, in a more profound collaboration with the European Union, should get involved in enhancing and assuring the security in the Black Sea area and the Western Balkans (especially in the former Yugoslavia), but also in assuring the energy security of the European continent.

During a media briefing following the official talks, Ungureanu declared that Romania awaits from Riga a very clear text on this topic and that, for our country, NATO are the “main pillar of national security”.



Romanian Defence Minister says the country’s 2007 budget is covering expenses for the next year military missions

Apart from the general theme of the preparation of the meeting from Riga, the issues discussed by Jaap de Hoop Scheffer with the Minister of Defence, Sorin Frunzaverde, focused on actual technical issues: the Romanian Army’s involvement in the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) from Afghanistan and in other NATO ongoing operations. The Romanian Minister reviewed the military participation of Romania in the operations theatres.

As referring to ISAF operation, Sorin Frunzaverde pointed out that Romania’s attention is focused on South Afghanistan, where most of the Romanian forces participating to the mission are dislocated.

In connection with the same country, Minister Frunzaverde said that the Romanian army will continue to participate to NATO effort of training the Iraqi forces, also by running the programme for the training of the Iraqi officers at the National Defence University from Bucharest (where 37 Iraqi officers have been trained so far). As for the contribution of Romania to KFOR, in Kosovo province, it will remain at the same level also in the next year, assured Sorin Frunzaverde. The latter told NATO Secretary General that it is important to maintain the defence budget for the fulfilment of the assumed missions at a minimum level of two per cent of GDP and informed him that in 2007 the defence budget will have a weight of 2.05 per cent of GDP.



Romania Report – also using RFE/RL and Nine o’Clock reports