Statement

On Romania’s NATO Candidacy

 By

 H.E. Sorin Ducaru, Ambassador of Romania to the United States

Before

The Subcommittee on Europe of the Committee on International Relations

United States House of Representatives

May 1, 2002

Mr. Chairman,

Distinguished Members of Congress, 

I am extremely privileged to have the opportunity to talk to you about an issue of high importance for my country: NATO enlargement. It is also a great honor to follow my distinguished colleagues from the NATO candidate countries.   I want to thank Ambassador Poptodorova for her comprehensive overview of the NATO enlargement process and for bringing specific emphasis on the importance of NATO enlargement and Romania’s candidacy. 

Why is NATO Enlargement Important for the Trans-Atlantic Community? 

We see NATO enlargement as part of the solution to the challenges of the new century. We want to be part of this solution. The war on terrorism has proved that more allies are better than fewer allies. Romania shares the values and principles of the Trans-Atlantic community. Bringing into the Alliance like-minded countries, with stable democratic systems, from the Baltic to the Black Sea, is a long-term guarantee against the spread of the new threats; it will expand the area of stability, democracy and freedom throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Our countries want to be part of an Alliance that has been successful and whose enlargement leads to the completion of a Europe whole and free.  

Why does Romania want to join NATO? 

Along with sharing the common values, principles and objectives of the Alliance, as well as ensuring our national security, NATO membership would serve as a validation of Romania’s return to its Western roots and identity, from which it was artificially diverted for more than half a century by the Soviet era. This is why more than 80% of the Romanian public supports NATO membership and why contribution to NATO’s objectives and missions is not just an obligation, but also a matter of pride. This contribution and pride have been reflected in Romanian soldiers’ participation in the Gulf War and peace-support missions in Somalia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and most recently in Afghanistan. 

The Guiding Principles of our Preparations for NATO membership 

Mr. Chairman,

Our preparations for membership in the Alliance are based on three main guiding principles: self-performance within the Membership Action Plan, contribution to NATO’s objectives and missions, and solidarity with the allies and partners.

a) Performance

After more than a decade of difficult transformations, we have an established democracy and a functional market economy. Our democracy has been tested by three rounds of elections and two democratic transfers of power, having a good record in the field of human rights. On February 24 this year, Allen Kassof, president of the U.S.-based foundation “Project on Ethnic Relations”, active in Central and Eastern European countries for more than ten years, acknowledged the high-level cooperation between the current Romanian Government and the party representing the Hungarian minority (UDMR), by naming Romania “an example for all the countries in the region” and stating that   "interethnic dialogue and cooperation of such quality and with such good results have no equivalent, at this time, in this region of Europe”. 

Romania is currently in its third year of economic growth, after 1.6% growth in 2000 and 5 % in 2001.   On April 19, 2002, Standard & Poor’s upgraded Romania’s ratings for the second time in less than one year, reflecting, as the agency stated, “Romania's reduced vulnerability to external pressures, the lasting robust performance of its export sector, and more sustainable private-sector-driven economic growth”. The Romanian private sector now accounts for 65% of GDP.  

Romania’s military reform is guided by the vision of transformation—transformation from the doctrine of territorial defense to flexible, rapidly deployable, self-sustainable professional forces, fully interoperable with NATO. We have downsized peacetime force structure by more than half (from 300, 000 in 1989 to 127,000 at present) and adapted our command structure to NATO standards. Qualitative changes occurred in training and equipment of armed forces. We have doubled the amount of resources per soldier, and made the units earmarked for possible Article 5 missions the top priority. The decrease in the number of high-ranking officers and the increase of professional soldiers has resulted in a structural shift in the armed forces. An Air Sovereignty Operational Center (ASOC) pilot program has been initiated and will be linked to the NATO’s Center. A modern acquisition system is in place as part of “2002-2005 Defense Planning Directive” and we use a robust Planning, Programming and Budgeting System. The modernization of the armed forces is based upon a military budget of 2.38 % in 2002, to be sustained between 2.3 % and 2.5 % for the next 5 years.  

We are aware that we still have work to do and problems to overcome. We are mindful of the need to be fully prepared for assuming the responsibilities of NATO membership. In the remaining months before the Prague Summit, full implementation of our Membership Action Plan (MAP) and continued progress in military reform, further stimulating economic growth, fighting corruption and strengthening rule of law are our priorities.

b) Contribution

In a discussion with a distinguished US Senator, I was asked a very interesting question: “What can NATO candidate countries bring to the Alliance that the Alliance does not already have?” I think that first and foremost, we can bring essential elements of our geo-strategic identity. As the Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase pointed out in a speech at SAIS last November, “Romania is on the frontline of conflicts in Southeastern Europe, with territory, with troops and with tenacity. The tenacity of pursuing reform and consolidating democracy at home, while promoting regional peace, cooperation and stability.” 

Furthermore, each of our countries can bring specialized contributions to the Alliance. Opening air, land and maritime corridors, sharing intelligence, fighting financial sources of terrorism, offering logistic facilities and even troops on the ground are contributions to the war on terrorism we have already made, showing that we are willing and able to act as “de facto” allies of the United States and NATO. 

Romania was the first among the candidate countries to bring troops on the ground in Afghanistan.   We transported the troops there with our airlift capacities. At present, the Romanian participation in the International Security and Assistance Force in Afghanistan accounts for 48 military, one C130 Hercules plane with its own crew. Just yesterday, the Romanian Parliament approved the deployment of additional 405 combat troops and 70 Nuclear, Biological and Chemical engineers in support of the operation “Enduring Freedom” in Afghanistan.  

At the recent Donor Conference in Stuttgart (Germany), Romania pledged to help the US and other partners to train the Georgian army. The Black Sea port of Constanta has been established as a gathering point for all the other contributions and for transporting them to Georgia by using the direct ferryboat line that links the seaport of Constanta to the Georgian port of Batumi/Poti. 

c) Solidarity

Solidarity among NATO candidate countries is one of the most valuable achievements of the Vilnius Group process. Our presence here, in this format, is an expression of this principle. We understand that we are not in competition between each other, but rather in a competition with ourselves in meeting membership criteria. We have learned to promote solidarity as an entire group as well as regionally. My distinguished Bulgarian colleague has already mentioned the close cooperation and coordination between our two countries, cooperation that has enhanced regional stability and anti-terrorist efforts and promoted a Southern dimension of NATO enlargement.  

Romania and Bulgaria constitute a natural bridge linking the central core of NATO with Greece and Turkey. We jointly offered air corridors and logistic facilities to NATO operations during Kosovo war and for the US-led coalition against terrorism. Most recently, in February 2002, we established a new format of cooperation, reuniting Romania, Bulgaria Greece and Turkey, with multiple purposes:

-          project stability in the Western Balkans, as well as towards Central Asia and the Middle East;

-          enhance cooperation in the war against terrorism and in countering transnational threats;

-          strengthening the case for a Southern dimension of NATO enlargement. 

Conclusions

Mr. Chairman,

The principles and actions guiding our preparations for NATO membership stem not only from what NATO could bring to us, but also from what we can bring to the Alliance. That is why, especially after September 11, we decided to jointly act as “de facto” allies. Our reforms are not done just for the sake of NATO membership. They are part of the internal process of consolidating our democracy, promoting rule of law and creating a functioning and prosperous market economy. Our preparations are not just aimed at the Prague “final exam”, but also at bringing value to the Alliance beyond the Prague summit. It is this vision that Romanian Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana laid out for US Administration officials in April this year: “Romania is not sprinting towards the finishing line in Prague, but to a starting line towards much more complex and comprehensive responsibilities”.  

We are thankful for the constant and substantive guidance provided to us by our friends and partners, especially here in the United States: the US Administration, Congress and the think tank community. We are especially grateful to the US House of Representatives for adopting the Freedom Consolidation Act and for the constant openness of House members for dialogue with our officials. We have been encouraged by the message the two leaders of the Senate, Majority Leader Tom Daschle, and Minority Leader Trent Lott, addressed to the Bucharest “Spring of the New Allies” Conference: “NATO enlargement has enjoyed and continues to enjoy bipartisan support in the United States Senate. It is an issue that unites Democrats and Republicans”. 

I would like to conclude by stressing the special meaning Prague bears for my country. As President of Romania, Ion Iliescu, mentioned in his February speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center, “Prague is not only the golden city of Europe. Not only the place of President Havel’s Velvet Revolution. It is a place where in 1968 Romania, along with other Warsaw Pact countries, was sent an invitation to come with tanks in order to end the “Prague Spring”. We declined that invitation. This year, the Allies within NATO are preparing for a different kind of invitation, that of defending and promoting the democratic values and of building a Europe, whole and free, by joining NATO”. I would like to assure you that Romania is doing its utmost to be best prepared to honor this invitation.  

Thank you.