France will not increase the number of its military personnel present on Romanian territory within the North Atlantic Alliance, declared in Sibiu, the French Minister of Armed Forces, who had a meeting with her Romanian counterpart, Ionut Mosteanu.
The two visited the contingents deployed in the National Training Center in Cincu.
During her speech in Sibiu, Catherine Vautrin assured that France will remain a firm ally of Romania and mentioned that the security of the hexagon is dependent on that of NATO’s Eastern Flank.
„Right now, as we speak, we have 3.000 soldiers deployed in Romania. In the future, France will remain at the number already established within the alliance”, said Catherine Vautrin.
On the other hand, the Romanian minister mentioned that there is a very great potential for collaboration between the two countries at the level of military industrial production.
„Romania will be able to purchase military equipment from European manufacturers, it is a European loan with a very convenient interest rate”, said Ionut Mosteanu.
Ionut Mosteanu also recalled that the American decision related to the resizing of the military presence from Mihail Koglalniceanu is not a cause for concern.
„The American partners have seen that Europe, as the minister said, has understood that it must invest more in the army of each European country and that it is now much more prepared to defend itself and is part of a global strategy that the United States has decided on”, explained Ionut Mosteanu.
The NATO battle group in Romania, established in 2022, currently brings together soldiers from France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain.
Translated by: Radu Matei