States Secretaries of defence Sebastian Huluban and Floarea Serban, along with the chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Stefan Danila, participated in the ceremony marking 10 years since Romania was invited to become a member of the North Atlantic organization, organized at Cotroceni Palace, Wednesday, 21 November.

The chief of General Staff`s speech reviewed the most important moments of the process of joining NATO, from a political and military perspective and emphasized the way this process affected the Romanian military organization.

'Joining NATO was the drive to reform, restructure and transform the Romanian Armed Forces from a mass military typical of the Cold War period, to a modern and flexible military, deployable, better trained and equipped, as needed to meet the requirements and standards for NATO integration', Lieutenant General Stefan Danila said.

During the ceremony, President Traian Basescu awarded orders and medals to several officers, as a token of appreciation for the devotion and dedication they showed in their careers, thus contributing to strengthening the prestige of the Romanian military among its peers in the alliance, at a time when the institutions with responsibilities in the field of national security go through a process of reform.

MoND Press Office