State Secretary and chief of Department for Policy of Defense and Planning from the Ministry of Defense, Corneliu Dobritoiu, participated between October 2 and 3, 2006 in the Informal Reunion of Defense Ministers from the European Union member states occurred in Levi, Finland.

In the first day of the Reunion they had talks on the operations of crisis management and the evolution of the situation in the Western Balkans ( stressing on the European Union's mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina) and in Sudan.

As for the Western Balkans, they consider as necessary the international presence to be continued and coordinated so that they could trace the political developments in the region, and the activities to be planned according to the evaluation of these evolutions. ALTHEA mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina is successful, the recent elections representing the first step towards the reform. According to the participants, the processes in the Western Balkans will be influenced by the solutions of the Kosovo file.

Security and humanitarian situation in Sudan continues to be critical, imposing the strength of the EU operational capability. The international community will increase the efforts in order to convince the authorities from Khartoum to accept the implementation of the UNSCR Resolution 1706, the document stipulating the transition to the UN operation starting January 1, 2007.

Priority for the Union is the attain of the full operational capability of the tactic combat Groups, the increase of this capability having in view the mobility and the rapid deployment. During the works, they announced that the Tactic Combat Group Greece/Romania/Bulgaria/Cyprus will be operational in July 1, 2007.

They also stressed on the air strategic transports, the maritime security and the gendarmery as the priorities of action.

MoD Press Office