Polish-Romanian consultations on security policy
16.01.2018
The implementation of the NATO Summit decisions was the main topic of the Polish-Romanian consultations held on January 16. The Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland was represented by Undersecretary of State Mr Tomasz Szatkowski.
During the talks, the interlocutors discussed the implementation of the Warsaw Summit decisions, referring both, to the Northern and Southern part of the Eastern Flank. The need for further adaptation of the Alliance against threats, including the Command Structure reform, was emphasized. The participants highly assessed the current Polish-Romanian cooperation aimed at strengthening the security of NATO's Eastern Flank, including the reciprocal deployment of units. Polish and Romanian delegations discussed as well their expectations related to the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) on security and defence in the framework of the European Union.
The speakers acknowledged the growing regional cooperation in the field of security, including the "Bucharest Format" (the so-called B9 initiative, a platform of dialogue and cooperation of the Visegrad Group countries, the Baltic States, Romania and Bulgaria). It was underlined that the meeting of B9 defense ministers planned in Bucharest in March 2018 would be a good opportunity to ensure a coherent position of the region before the July NATO summit in Brussels.
The heads of delegations discussed the security situation in Europe, particularly the threats coming from the East, and the prospects of further bilateral military cooperation (also in the context of modernization of the Armed Forces of Poland and Romania).
The meeting was attended by the Polish and Romanian Deputy Foreign Ministers – Mr Bartosz Cichocki and Mr George Ciamba as well as the Deputy Defense Minister of Romania Mr Mircea Duşa.