President Iohannis: National parliaments of B9 countries play essential role in equitable sharing of burdens inside NATO

The national legislatures of the countries making up the Bucharest Format (B9) have an essential role to play in the equitable sharing of burdens inside NATO, especially because of their specific part in approving budgets to support a more ambitious common defence and security approach, Romania's President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday in the opening speech at the first B9 parliamentary summit.

"We start from the generic responsibility of the parliamentary dimension inside the NATO countries - to secure the bond between the political class and society, for optimal reporting of NATO's political agenda to the most pressing needs and expectations of the public in the allied states, a public that wishes more security. The national parliaments of the B9 countries have an essential role to play in the equitable sharing of the burdens inside NATO, especially because of their specific part in approving budgets to support a more ambitious common defence and security approach," said Iohannis.

He underscored that Romania's commitment to allocate 2 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for defence spending starting in 2017 highlights the importance of effective collaboration among all institutional actors - the President, Parliament and the Government.

"Taking up and preserving this commitment was made on my own initiative at the beginning of my term of office, with the agreement of all the parties represented in Parliament. I believe that this is a concrete and positive example of how all the bodies of a NATO member state must act to respect the commitments pledged for its own security and also for the security of the whole Euro-Atlantic area," Iohannis said.

He mentioned that the sharing of security benefits comes with the sharing of burdens and that this principle must be understood by the society as a whole, in which context the essential role of the national parliaments occurs.

"Indeed, parliaments are best placed to explain to their own public the benefits and responsibilities derived from NATO membership," Iohannis pointed out.

According to the president, the B9 format has been strengthened in a very useful informal security dialogue platform among NATO's eastern flank countries, which have also become beneficiaries of allied deterrence and active contributors to Euro-Atlantic security in its entirety.

The head of state added that the NATO summit in Brussels this year will mark a new stage in the process of adapting the alliance to the current security challenges and threats. He pointed out that, in preparation for this meeting, the summit of the Bucharest format in Warsaw this June, which he will co-chair with the President of Poland, Andrei Duda, will play a very important role.

"In this context, the full implementation of the decisions we adopted at the NATO summits in Wales and Warsaw is a priority. We will have to continue to argue that the allied presence across the entire eastern flank, from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, should be unitary, consistent and efficient to serve the purpose of strengthening NATO's deterrence and defense posture. Romania firmly supports NATO's initiatives that help achieve this goal. In addition to these efforts, NATO's eastern and southern partners should continue to receive the attention and support of NATO to strengthen their resilience, and we also support initiatives to address the threats in the southern neighbourhood of the Euro-Atlantic area, including by increasing the role of NATO in countering terrorism," the head of state said.

Iohannis said that Romania strongly supports the development of the partnership between NATO and the European Union.

"I trust that at this year's NATO Summit we will reiterate by concrete actions and decisions the unity and solidarity of the allies, as well as the value of a strong transatlantic relationship. I am convinced that the decisions we will adopt in Brussels in July will make NATO a stronger alliance, and Romania will remain the same ally and trustworthy, responsible partner, fully committed to NATO projects to strengthening regional and international security," Iohannis said. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)