Romanian military, a steadfast partner

 Guest blogger: Colonel Giles Orpen-Smellie, the British Defence Attaché, on his contribution to the visit by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to Bucharest

It was a pleasure to be able to address the British Parliamentary delegation, led by Sir Menzies Campbell MP, a former leader of the British Liberal-Democrat Party, who visited Bucharest over the weekend to represent the United Kingdom at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.  This was a high-profile delegation with 16 members drawn from both houses of the British Parliament and all three major political parties.  I was very pleased, alongside other diplomats of the British Embassy, to paint a well deserved positive picture of the willingness of Romania to play its part on the international stage.

Romania has been a wholehearted NATO ally since her accession to the Alliance in 2004.  She has demonstrated by actions rather than words, an approach I would always salute, that she regards the NATO Alliance as the cornerstone of her national security and the security of Europe.  These actions include the robust engagement of Romanian forces in NATO operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Libya, and also to future NATO projects such as Ballistic Missile Defence.  Romania has also been helpful in advising us about the issues of the Black Sea Region, where clearly she has particular expertise. There are many good messages in all of this and, actually, I wonder whether Romania is claiming sufficient credit for what she has done for the Alliance or for the spirit in which it was done.

The British Parliamentary delegation was impressed by Romania’s willingness to fulfil its NATO commitments and the questions the delegation asked suggested that there was a deep interest and awareness among the delegates of Romania’s military potential and her willingness to play her part in the Alliance.