State Secretary for Defence Policy, Planning and International Relations, Simona Cojocaru, participated in the Foreign Affairs Council Reunion in the EU Defence Ministers format, at Brussels, over 15th-16th November.

During the reunion, the officials had a first debate on the Strategic Compass project. Through this paper, the member states want to consolidate the security and defence dimension, by offering certain guidelines on the response ways to the threats and challenges posed.

State Secretary for Defence Policy, Planning and International Relations supported the importance of this EU future orientation paper in the field of security and defence and emphasized the importance of an ambitious , pragmatic and realistic approach.

Also, Simona Cojocaru expressed her support for the consolidation of the EU capacity in responding to external crises by optimizing current instruments in agreement to NATO. Also, the official pointed out the importance of resilience, including the support given by the armed forces to the civilian authorities in emergency situations but also the importance of supporting the partner states from the East and from the Western Balkans in consolidating their own resilience. When referring to partnerships, the state secretary mentioned the importance of a solid trans-Atlantic relation and consolidation of cooperation and coordination between EU and NATO.

The second day of the reunion, the talks started with a presentation of the developments of certain current matters. The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, presented the current status of Operation EUFOR Althea, following the extension of the operation warrant within the UNO Security Council, the developments on the Coordinated Maritime Presence Initiative and the progresses made in the military mobility field and the current status of PESCO. Also, the officials discussed the situation at Belarus borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, where they sent a solidarity message and restated the determination of the members states of not allowing the use of migration to become a hybrid pressure instrument on the EU.

The talks continued with a session dedicated to the EU military training missions, where the defence ministers and their representatives debated ways of increasing their effectiveness, based on the lessons learned in the theatres of operations.

The Romanian representative supported the importance of consolidating the EU training missions in a realistic manner, this being an essential element of maintaining the credibility of the external action.

The Romanian Armed Forces participate in EUTM Mali, EUTM RCA, EUTM Somalia and, starting next year, Romania will contribute with personnel within EUTM Mozambique. At the same time, together with other countries, Romania appreciated the opportunity of evaluations on the possibility of launching a EU training and assistance mission in support of Ukraine, in response to the request of Kiev administration in reforming the military educational system in this country.

Within the working lunch that was held with the participation of NATO Secretary General, the officials continued the debate on the situation from Belarus and Ukraine, with focus on the need to coordinate the efforts of the two organizations in these regions. The debate continued with an exchange of opinions on the two reflection processes EU Strategic Compass and the review of NATO Strategic Compass. Also, the officials debated on ways of consolidating cooperation between the two organizations, including from the perspective of a new potential declaration on EU-NATO cooperation. The recent developments showed the need to coordinate on a series of common interest topics resilience, emerging and disruptive technologies as well as climatic aspects that impact the defence area.

State Secretary Cojocaru pointed out the opportunity offered by the review of the Strategic Compass and NATO's Strategic Concept on the refection on the complementarity between EU and NATO, as well as guidelines on the ways the cooperation and coordination between the two organizations can become more effective. In the context, the Romanian official expressed her firm support in adopting a new joint declaration on the EU-NATO cooperation, indicating resilience, which requires practical cooperation.

As part of the reunion, the state secretary participated in the EDA steering Committee Reunion in the EU Defence Ministers format, on Tuesday, 16th November.

During the reunion, the officials discussed ways of consolidating EDA's role in the efforts made to stimulate innovation and promotion of collaboration opportunities in the field of future technologies at EU level. In this context, the officials emphasized the importance of the support given by the Agency to the state members in the implementation of the initiatives in the defence innovation field by acting as a prioritizing instrument in the development of the future defence capabilities as well as interface in relation with the EU institutions and agencies.

The State Secretary for Defence Policy, Planning and International Relations communicated Romania's support for EDA's assumed role in the field of innovation, taking into account the need that the European Union maintain its technologic advance against its competitors. Also, Simona Cojocaru emphasized the need that the level of ambition associated to EDA's steps in the field of innovation be correlated with the available resources, including by coordinating the efforts with the European Commission and ensuring complementarity with the initiative launched at NATO level (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic - DIANA).

The Press Office