|
Server : Apache/2.4.62 System : FreeBSD fbsdweb2.web.rcn.net 14.1-RELEASE FreeBSD 14.1-RELEASE releng/14.1-n267679-10e31f0946d8 GENERIC amd64 User : www ( 80) PHP Version : 8.3.8 Disable Function : NONE Directory : /domains/roger.dnai/97Book/ |
Upload File : |
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//SoftQuad//DTD HoTMetaL PRO 4.0::19971010::extensions to HTML 4.0//EN"
"hmpro4.dtd">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META NAME="GENERATOR"
CONTENT="Mozilla/4.03 (Macintosh; U; 68K) [Netscape]">
<TITLE>Victor Babiuc</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" BGPROPERTIES="FIXED">
<P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+3">Romania
and the New European Security Structure</FONT></FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><FONT SIZE="+2">Minister
of Defense of Romania Victor Babiuc</FONT></FONT></FONT> </CENTER>
<P></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">The city of Prague, like
the cities of Budapest and Warsaw before it, has become a representative
capital of the most solid alliance known in modern history--NATO. Prague's
beauties and hospitality are serving us well as we take part in a workshop
that promotes political reflection and institutional coordination that I
am honored to be part of.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">If approached in a
nontraditional manner, the subject of European security is filled with
curiosities. First, during its long history, Europe has needed more
protection from itself than it has from enemies that came from beyond its
frontiers. Second, the spiritual unity that was at the foundation of the
Continent's singular identity has often been under attack by its political
and military rivalry. The supposed universality of Europe's values has
been twice destroyed in this century alone by the fire of terrible wars
and the breakdown of its ancient civilization.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Local solutions to the
Continent's ongoing struggles, however, have, over the course of time,
appeared. These are evidenced in the commanding citadels, the effects of
geopolitics, and the design of modern security structures. Today, however,
we have the opportunity to create widespread political conditions that can
transform the Europe of the 20th century into a continent much different
than it used to be.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">ADAPTING TO THE NEW
SECURITY CHALLENGES</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">The collapse of communism,
the fall of the "Iron Curtain," the endorsement of the 1990
Charter of Paris for a New Europe, the dissolution of both the Soviet
Empire and the Warsaw Pact, the disappearance of states and the appearance
of others on the European map are all events of the past. History is
rushing by, and it is time to look to the future. Romania is committed to
enacting radical economic, political, social, security, and international
policy changes so that it can integrate quickly with European and
Euro-Atlantic structures. We have already begun reforming our military arm
and are in the process of redefining our political and security policies
as well.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Romania's national
security strategy as well as its military strategy, endorsed by the
Supreme Defense Council, are based on two concepts: stability and
Euro-Atlantic integration. While the threat of world war has not been
completely erased, the probability of widespread conflict has definitely
been reduced. Global threats today stem from nontraditional sources, and
are the result of the disintegration of the great Cold War military
structures and the collapse of societies that were not capable of adapting
to the radical changes. Current threats are being generated by the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; drug and arms trafficking;
enormous, uncontrolled population movements; ecological and technological
disasters; as well as terrorist and extremist activities and
organizations, including organized crime. To face these new global
challenges, the new security concept must have as its main objectives
citizens' protection, the guarantee of fundamental rights and freedoms,
and the safeguarding and promotion of national interests. Each state must
act as the instrument of its citizens' security.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">ROMANIA'S
GEOSTRATEGIC POSITION</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Romania's security concept
has developed from the fundamental geostrategic data that defines our
position in the new Europe. That data establishes Romania as an important
communication line between the northern and southern side of the Alliance
on the border with Ukraine; with Poland, Romania provides the region's
line of community and stability. Romania is a decisive element in the
Black Sea equation, a key factor in the Balkans situation, and a mediator
of the difficult relationship between Greece and Turkey. Romania can also
be defined as the European gate to the Transcaucasian area, which is rich
in oil and gas resources, and as a trans-European communication line on
the Danube-Main-Rhine trajectory. Like all other Central European states,
Romania does not believe it is threatened by any European state but by
security risks resulting from the dissolution of Cold War-era processes.</FONT></FONT>
</P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">ROMANIAN REFORMS IN
PURSUIT OF EURO-ATLANTIC INTEGRATION</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Romania's strategy is an
important part of the Euro-Atlantic community's endeavors to achieve a new
security architecture on the Continent. It is focusing its efforts on the
prevention and peaceable resolution of crises and conflicts. As part of
this work, Romania is prepared to contribute to the North Atlantic
Alliance's effort. To that end we have established a Rapid Intervention
Force as the center of our armed forces' new structure; developed programs
to increase our interoperability level and to upgrade command, control,
communications, and information systems; and have made the extensive
military reforms needed to create a smaller, highly specialized modern
army.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Despite our current
economic difficulties, Romania has assumed the costs--social and political
as well as financial--of carrying out these reforms. We do not expect
foreign support for our integration costs, and know that integration with
NATO will result in many benefits. In economic terms, integration with the
Alliance will cost more now than it would have two years ago. But every
realistic economic and political analysis we have seen shows that
integration with NATO and the European Union will solve Romania's most
important security issue: preserving its identity as a member of the
Western world, a world from which it was forcibly separated as a result of
hostile political arrangements. To those who wonder why Romania wishes so
strongly to integrate with NATO in the first wave, I say: Because we have
been waiting a very long time for the chance to rejoin the community to
which we belong--the Euro-Atlantic community.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<CENTER>
<H4><B><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">ROMANIA'S FUTURE AND
THE EUROPEAN SECURITY ARCHITECTURE</FONT></FONT></B></H4></CENTER>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">Europe's new security
architecture must be focused on the future. And it must be focused on its
center, from which its values, cooperative efforts, communication, and
mutual respect arise. This means it must rely on Berlin as well as Paris,
Bucharest as well as Budapest, Prague as well as Vienna. The geopolitical
arrangements of the past no longer hold in the future's light. Europe must
cultivate diversity by cooperating under common standards that provide
security and prosperity.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000">It is such a Europe to
which Romania wishes to belong--now, not in the undefined future.
Romania's accession to NATO in the first wave will be a victory over our
past as well as a promise for our future.</FONT></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><A HREF="BABIUC.HTM">Go
to top of Page</A></FONT></FONT> <BR><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><A HREF="workshop97.htm">Return
to Prague '97</A></FONT></FONT> <BR><FONT FACE="Palatino"><FONT COLOR="#000000"><A HREF="../index.html">Return
to Home Page</A></FONT></FONT> </P>
</BODY>
</HTML>