On Tuesday, January 10, in Bemowo Piskie, Mariusz Błaszczak, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of National Defense and Angel Tîlvăr, Minister of National Defense of Romania, met with soldiers of the Battalion Battle Group stationed in Poland as part of the eFP (Enhanced Forward Presence).

"We share similar views when it comes to threats and answers on how to strengthen our armed forces. We spend more than the minimum of 2% of GDP on defense. Both Poland and our Romanian friends equip our troops with modern technologies. Together, we are building the strength of the Alliance countries located on NATO's eastern flank, proving to a potential aggressor that an attack on Poland or Romania will not pay off.

- said Deputy Prime Minister.

Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) is a NATO initiative established at the Warsaw Summit in 2016. Poland, as the only country, is the host of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence and has a status of a contributing country to the eFP. A multinational divisional command that coordinates the activities of all eFP groups is located in Elbląg. The main strength of the eFP are four NATO multinational battalion battlegroups deployed in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Each group was formed by one of the framework nations, which are the United States, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom, respectively.

During the meeting, the heads of the defense ministries of Poland and Romania also raised the issue of bilateral cooperation in the context of Russia's ongoing, unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.

"We also talked of supporting Ukraine. This is a process that is significant for the independence of our countries. We are well aware that the re-creation of the Russian Empire embodies evil. I told my colleague, the Romanian minister, that we see Russia as a real threat when it recreates its empire - regardless of whether it was white or red. Besides, Ukrainians are forced to experience that now as Russia has invaded Ukraine."

– emphasized Deputy Prime Minister Błaszczak.

"We talked about the war in Ukraine in the context of security. I mean the completely illegal invasion on a sovereign country by another state. It means a complicated context, but we must emphasize here the solidarity of both Poland and Romania when it comes to refugees from Ukraine and multidimensional aid for Ukraine. We also discussed the increase in defense spending"

– said Romanian Minister of National Defense Angel Tîlvăr.

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Poland and Romania also cooperate in the Bucharest Nine format initiated in 2014. B9's activity focuses on issues related to threats to NATO's eastern flank, ways to mitigate them and seeking opportunities for cooperation between the region’s countries in this regard.

The NATO Battalion Battle Group under the eFP (Enhanced Forward Presence) initiative in Poland consists of over 1,000 soldiers. Its framework country is the United States. The group is completed of soldiers from Great Britain, Romania and Croatia. The Romanian contingent consists of up to 120 soldiers, and is equipped with 35mm Gepard 1A2 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns and 1 radar station. On a daily basis, the NATO Battalion Battle Group cooperates with the 15th Giżycko Mechanized Brigade by carrying out numerous exercises to strengthen interoperability in planning and conducting joint operations.

As part of the Tailored Forward Presence (tFP), Poland supports NATO subunits operating in Romania. All activities, both of the Alliance and of its individual members, are of a defensive and deterrent nature. They are the result of NATO's adaptation to current security challenges. The Polish Military Contingent in Romania is equipped with Rosomak wheeled armored personnel carriers, as well as equipment supporting their operation in the exercise area. Their main task is to train together under the auspices of the Multinational Division South East. PMC Romania has up to 250 soldiers.