Defene Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca participated on Thursday, 6th May, at Brussels, in the Foreign Affairs Council Reunion in the EU Defence Format.

The activity was the first ministerial reunion organized as part of the finalization process of the Strategic Orientation Compass, an instrument which aims at facilitating EU's level of ambition, as defined in 2016, by establishing specific political and objectives in the field of defence and security. The reunion agenda's main topic was the pillar dedicated to crises management within the Strategic Compass. At the same time, the event offered the opportunity for an exchange of opinions on the latest developments in Sahel, Mozambique and Ukraine.

During the exchange of opinions, the defence ministers analyzed a set of proposals of the High Representative and presented several ideas on the consolidation of the EU operational profile. Concrete proposals consisted in ways of increasing the effectiveness response to crises, enhancement of the availability level of forces and the increase of reaction capability and operational flexibility.

The defence ministers agreed with the conclusions of the Council on the security and defence and adopted the Council decisions on the approval of the participation of Canada, Norway and USA in the PESCO project dedicated to military mobility.

The activity also included a working lunch, attended by NATO's General Secretary, Jens Stoltenberg, where the officials approached ways of increasing cooperation and coordination of operational efforts in EU and NATO common interest areas.

In his allocution, the Romanian defence minister expressed his support for the consolidation efforts of the operational pillar of the Common Security and Defence Policy, in an ambitious but pragmatic manner, and emphasized the importance of the Strategic Compass in offering guidelines that help implement the EU's level of ambition. Minister Ciuca pointed out the importance of the coherence of efforts made for eliminating the gaps between the politically assumed commitments and the available capabilities, as well as the inconsistencies in the commitments assumed within other format and international organizations which refer to the principle of the single set of forces.

Also, the Romanian official emphasized the importance of the partnership with NATO, expressing his support for the consolidation of cooperation in the common interest geographical areas, as well as for the enhancement of coordination with a view of increasing resilience of the Eastern Neighborhood.

The Press Office