MASTER THESIS
Why NATO needed Romania and why Romania needed
NATO?
Development and International Relations / European Studies - Master
Programme
Thesis Supervisor: Associate Professor Søren
Student: Andrei
Schmidt
Dragomir
JUNE 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction.................................................................................... 3
II. Methodology ................................................................................... 9
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Why NATO and Why Romania? ................................................................................ 9
Experience and Data Collection ................................................................................ 11
Key Concepts .............................................................................................................. 13
Methodological facts .................................................................................................. 16
Problem Formulation ................................................................................................. 20
III. Theory and Literature................................................................. 24
IV. Analysis ......................................................................................... 31
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Romania between Eastern Past and Western Future ............................................. 31
Understanding the Past Problems and the Future Hopes ...................................... 39
Utility for NATO and utility of NATO ..................................................................... 48
Romania as an important actor and strong ally of the West in the region ........... 58
Romania and the Alliance’ interest in the Black Sea region .................................. 65
NATO – a first step towards full Euro-Atlantic integration .................................. 71
V. Conclusion .................................................................................... 76
VI. Bibliography ................................................................................. 80
VII. Annexes ....................................................................................... 83
2
I. Introduction
We live in an era where almost every international organization fights to maintain
peace, protect the environment and eliminate poverty, separately or together. It is also the case
of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization which is a political and military alliance spread
from Vancouver to Vilnius. The Organization is able to reach such a large space by
continuously enlarge in Europe. NATO’s main focuses are on political and military
cooperation in order to ensure the security of its members and of the surrounding regions.
Due to my previous experiences such as participating to the Bucharest NATO Summit
from 2008 and with my internship, where I have participated in joint meetings between
NATO and OSCE specialists in Vienna, I have come to the idea, together with my Supervisor,
to choose this subject, focused on why Romania needed the NATO membership and why the
Alliance wanted the Eastern European country as a member. Attending the NATO Summit
and more important the meetings in Vienna gave me another perspective about the
multilateral diplomacy and how the security issues in Europe are discussed. The fact that I
had access to such meetings and actually study in detail the official documents has also raised
my interest in the subject.
The fact that I have previously studied during Bachelor the importance of the security
cooperation and how important was the NATO integration for Romania and alongside the
things I have learned about international relations and security cooperation during the Master
Programme at the Aalborg University gave me a certain level of experience on the subject,
experience much needed in order to write your Master Thesis. The politico-military aspect of
security cooperation is the most important especially in Europe where we have regions with
security instability such as the Balkans and the region of the former members of the Soviet
Union.
Most international organizations based on support and assistance in politico-military,
economically, environmental and human dimension aspects work with a certain framework
for cooperation which every member state or partner for cooperation must adhere to. So this
3
simplifies the process of conferring assistance when needed. In spite of the differences
between the countries, differences such as dimension, influence and geostrategic position,
every member state of an organization must comply with internal rules and fully cooperate
especially when security issues are involved. Generally speaking, countries that fully
cooperate in order to solve their security issues have better chances of succeeding than those
where military interventions are possible. In the last decades we have examples of countries
ruined by war and internal conflicts, where international military presence was required by the
international community in order to stabilize the situation in all aspects.
We should consider the last two decades events in terms of conflicts and terrorist
threats and then think about the importance of the security not only between NATO members
but in the entire World. Since the North Atlantic Alliance has its roots in the will of the
Western Europe to protect itself from the possible threat of the Soviet Union and Eastern
Germany we should think about the evolution of this structure of political and military
cooperation and how it dealt with several problems. The beginning of the Cold War marks the
birth of the North Atlantic Alliance along some other actions taken by the United States,
Canada and Western Europe powers.
What we would like to emphasize trough this project is the importance of security in
Eastern Europe and why Romania is such an important actor in this region now. Given the
recent events in Kiev, with the Ukrainian President Yanukovych leaving the country after a
mass revolt, and the fact that the Crimean Peninsula is now Russian territory we can say that
these events prove again the importance of security in the region.
NATO’s birth coincided with the influence of President Truman in Europe and the
Marshall Plan for reconstructing a Europe devastated by the war. “After 1951, economic aid
trough the Marshall Plan was transformed into military aid to equip NATO and, in 1954, to
rearm West Germany to be NATO’s military shield against the Soviet Union.”1
DUIGNAN Peter, NATO – It’s Past, Present, and Future, Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University,
Stanford, California, 2000, p. 2;
1
4
It is known that the foundations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are based
on the North Atlantic Treaty also know as the Washington Treaty signed on the 4th of April
1949. The treaty is a model of “brevity and provides for in-built flexibility on all fronts.
Without the original text being modified at any stage, the Alliance has been able to adapt to a
changing security environment through time and each Ally can implement the text in
accordance with its capabilities and circumstances.” 2
Speaking about changes in the North Atlantic Alliance structures and functioning, one
of the most important moments after its creation is the end of the Communist bloc and the fall
of the Soviet Union. From this point on, in the beginning of the 90s, NATO had to embrace a
series of changes and began the enlargement process. In this context, Romania is one of the
most important new democracies in terms of geostrategic policy. The historical returning of
Romania to the occident will be able through and with the help of the Euro-Atlantic structures
and especially the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Since the creation of the organization, NATO encountered so many different scenarios
by which I mean diplomatic crisis, wars, civil wars, border tensions between states and so on.
During the period since its creation in 1949, NATO was a major actor in the Cold War, had to
deal with the Gulf War, the conflicts in Yugoslavia, and the absence of France from the
members list and many more. The fall of the Communist bloc in Europe was one of the most
important events since NATO’s creation and the appearance of the newly formed democracies
represented an opportunity for the Alliance to enlarge.
We should also consider the last two decades’ events in terms of conflicts and terrorist
threats and then think about the importance of the security cooperation not only in the NATO
region but in the entire world. Since the frequency of terrorist attacks had increased during the
90s and having the peak point in the September 11 events, resulted in NATO’s radically
changing its modus-operandi regarding the prediction and annihilation of the terrorist attacks.
During the years, NATO introduced new and innovative methods to deal with the security
issues especially terrorist threats. What we see today is that the Alliance promotes security
trough liberal democracy and synchronized military intelligence cooperation.
Washington Treaty on NATO’s Official Webpage, available at
http://www.nato.int/cps/eng/natolive/topics_67656.htm ;
2
5
The enlargement of NATO has as one of the major objectives the consolidation of
democracy in Europe. It also tries to foster cooperation and promote stability in the region.
We have to see the context of NATO creating a new division in Europe which is not such a
great scenario.3
Trough this project we want to be able to show the influence exercised by NATO on
new democracies in Europe and how this cooperation was beneficial for both parts. We will
also try to analyze the whole process of integration of Romania in the North Atlantic
structures from the political and economic levels to the military part, which will be revealed
as one of the strong points of Romania from geostrategic and defense points of view.
By analyzing the recent changes in the NATO area we will be able to see the updated
tendencies regarding security cooperation between members and political and economic
dialogue in Europe. We will also try to give some of the examples of NATO missions to see
the types of action in the Alliance.
Since its creation NATO was not as threatening as Russia was. Even after its
enlargement, getting closer to the Central European countries than Russia, NATO was not
perceived as aggressive because of its modus-operandi. In comparison with the Soviet Union,
the United States did not use force against its allies so the integration of Central Eastern
European countries came to balance a potential threat of Russia. In this project we will show
how the 5th Article of the Washington Treaty is one of the most important benefits of the
integration of the newly formed democracies in Central and Eastern Europe.4
This subject is particularly interesting due to the current situation in Crimeea and how
the Russian Federation’s actions have direct repercussions for the territorial integrity of
Ukraine. The situation will show us the importance and contribution of the Central Eastern
European members of NATO and also the capabilities of the Alliance to ensure the stability in
the region and how they will support members in times of threat.
One of the most inspiring quotes for the thesis is President’s Vaclav Havel reply to the
question of former Secretary General of NATO, Manfred Wörner who asked the Czech
3
CARPENTER Ted Galen and Barbara Conry editors, NATO enlargement: illusions and reality, CATO
Institute, Washington D.C., 2001, p. 1;
4
SCHIMMELFENNIG Frank, The EU, NATO and the Integration of Europe – Rules and Rhetoric, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2003, p.38;
6
President what was the most urgent problem of the post-revolutionary period. At that time
Havel responded: “We have two option: we can rely on Communists, who do have some
useful experience but are not politically reliable; or we can entrust key positions to former
dissidents who are reliable but lack the knowledge necessary in order to lead the country. If
we opt for the second solution, we are going to need a lot of help and advice from Western
experts.”5 This shows the importance of western assistance for European countries which are
trying to get on the democratic path, leaving behind the influence of the Soviet Union and
Yalta’s legacy. Czech Republic’s case is not singular in the region and every newly formed
democracy needs assistance from the Euro-Atlantic structures in order to reach stability in a
democratic environment after decades of communist rule. This will be the case of Romania
after the events of the Revolution in December 1989 when the country began reaching out the
West as a historical reconciliation. NATO was the first major player in the Euro-Atlantic
region that was interested in the future of Romania, and coincidentally or not Romania had
the occasion to first reach the Alliance and become an important member positioned between
two unstable regions, the territory of former Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union.
The stabilization of the democracy and the development of the economy in the
countries that entered in the first and second wave was different, as the Alliance have stressed
more the importance of the political and economic levels in the second wave, in which
Romania was included. We will see how this thing influenced the development of Romania
from all points of view as Romania preparing to enter both the North Atlantic Alliance and
the European in the 21st Century.
The United States is the most important and influent partner of Romania which
provided a lot of support for the Eastern European country after the 1989 Revolution. It is also
the United States that helped Romania in finding the way back to good relations with Western
Europe as they were in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Actually, in the period
between the First and Second World Wars, Romania was considered to be more Western-like
then ever but with more than a half of century of Communism these tendencies were lost.
GHECIU Alexandra, NATO in the New Europe – The Politics of International Socialization after the Cold
War, Stanford University Press, 2005, p.1;
5
7
Further on we will pass to the methodology part in order to better explain better the
structure of the thesis and why we have chosen the examples of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and Romania in order to show the importance and the “origins of the alliances”
such as this one, between a Euro-Atlantic structure and an Eastern European Country.
8
II. Methodology
1. Why NATO and Why Romania?
We have chosen NATO because of numerous arguments, most of them related to the
political and economic influence of the Organization in the whole World and not only in the
regions where members are aligned. NATO is one of the most important and successful
alliances since the very beginning, in 1949 when the Washington Treaty was signed. Since its
creation, NATO has faced not only external but also internal crisis, and we have the case of
France leaving the Alliance for a short period of time in the 60s, when the Alliance’s
structures had only a decade of experience.
The formation of NATO coincided with the Marshall Plan which was active between
1947 and 1951 when the Washington Treaty was already signed. This could only mean that
there was some synchronization in the United States plan regarding its foreign policy. “In
Europe itself, Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg formed the
Western European Union, to prevent either Germany or the USSR from dominating Europe.
Because of the Berlin Blockade in 1948 and the Communist aggression in Czechoslovakia
and Korea, the United States and the Western European Union combined forces in a new
alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949.”6 Here Peter Duignan describes
NATO as a preventive system that wanted to gain more influence and responsibility in a
democratic fashion. The United States was and still is the biggest influence of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization, but as known, during the years, many other members exercised
a great amount of influence within the structures.
After the 1989 Revolution in Romania, NATO was one of the first organizations to
interact with the country in times of need. For the Alliance, this was an opportunity to get
closer to the Middle East and Central Asia, regions where possible threats could come from.
Romania wanted at that time, a stronger relation with the United States and Western Europe
DUIGNAN Peter, NATO – It’s Past, Present, and Future, Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University,
Stanford, California, 2000, p. 2;
6
9
and the single road in achieving this was trough the NATO partnership and further
membership.
Choosing NATO was a decision that came from my will to dedicate this thesis to the
security studies and alliance formation. It was also a consensus between my coordinator and
me to focus on the relation between NATO and Romania and why these two entities decided
to cooperate.
The fact that I am Romanian also influenced me in choosing this subject alongside the
importance of the country in Europe. Romania is the seventh biggest country in Europe with a
population around 20 million inhabitants, member of NATO, EU, OSCE, and UN.
Geographically, Romania is crossed by the Danube River for more than 1500 km of its
territory being the Eastern gate in the Rotterdam-Constanţa channel. Romania also has the
biggest Harbor in the Black Sea in Constanţa a very important transportation link from
Western Europe to the Middle East. From the geostrategic point of view, Romania is a close
ally of the Euro-Atlantic structures given its proximity to Russia and the Middle East.
One other reason for choosing Romania was its participation to a large number of
peacekeeping missions, war zones and conflict management missions as part of the close
partnership with the United States, UN, NATO and OSCE.
The Eastern European country is also a strong partner of the United States from the
mid 90s due to a part of the political leadership in Romania that helped establish this relation
in a more diplomatic way. This relation with the US helped Romania gain the necessary
political experience and economic performance to be able to integrate in NATO and later in
the European Union. Recently Romania has announced that the Missile Defense System at
Deveselu (see Annexes 1 and 2) is operational. Also Military Airport at Mihail Kogălniceanu
will increase its dimensions, to reach a larger number of staff and equipment. The Romanian
President Traian Basescu stated earlier this year: “The relationship with the United States
made the organizing of Bucharest NATO Summit possible. It also helped with the
10
synchronization of the Romanian Military and Security Structures with the mechanism of
NATO.”7
On the 4th of April 2014, Romania marked a decade since its integration in the NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization. This historical moment is one other reason for choosing to
study the relation between NATO and Romania.
A key factor in my decision to study this subject was the possibility to access many
documents regarding the NATO integration process of Romania. Official documents and
national publications were part of the research and the easy access and reduced costs were
important in taking this decision.
As we go further in the methodological part, we will speak in the next chapter about
the key concepts identified in the entire paper. We will try to define every concept and to
explain its role in this project. This part is also important in finding the links between every
concept and to see how the parts of the project are related.
2. Experience and Data Collection
After agreeing on a certain subject with the Supervisor, the research for materials from
a particular area started. Since the relation between NATO and former partner and current
members in not something new to the field of International Relations and International
Organization I was able to rely on many databases to find the materials used in this projects.
The data collection process is something important in order to make a difference between a
good and a great project. Since my Internship was in Vienna, at the Romanian Permanent
Press Release – (1st of April 2014) – The Discourse of the Romanian President, Mr. Traian Băsescu, at the
solemn meeting of both Chambers of the Parliament dedicated to mark 10 years since Romania’s integration in
the North Atlantic Alliance and of 65 years of existence for NATO, available online at http://www.presidency.ro ;
7
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Mission to the International Organizations, and I worked with OSCE and UN, organizations
that have a strong cooperation with NATO, I was able to access official documents from
meetings and presentations that included the North Atlantic Alliance. I had the chance to be
part of joint meetings between officials from the Organization for Security Cooperation in
Europe and experts from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
During my experience with the Bachelor Degree, I have gained access to a number of
databases which have been extremely useful as a Political Science student. Shortly after
finishing the Political Science Faculty at the University of Bucharest I knew the databases
will be useful in my future studies. One of the most important databases used in this project is
JSTOR, which we also have access trough the Digital Library of Aalborg University.
Other important source for literature was the Bucharest University Library “Carol I”
which is one of the largest and more complex libraries in Romania offering a large number of
items from all domains. Since being in Bucharest for a certain period of time after I finished
the Internship, the Bucharest University Library offered the space necessary to research, read
and write the thesis. The opportunity to access items from a Romanian library was o a great
advantage for me since the subject is related to Romania. Accessing books and articles written
in Romanian, gave me the opportunity to have a complex research on the subject and read
items never translated into English or any other language. At this library I was able to access
official documents and books regarding Romania’s integration into the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization.
After agreeing with my Supervisor about the subject and the proposal, I started writing
the project. I began to plan my work and outline a structure for the project in order to be able
to work at the project and continue read the selected materials.
Since the main structure of the project was shaped from the beginning, I have started
writing. Previously, I have made an approximate schedule for writing the project. With daily
library sessions, consisting in 6-7 hours of actual work I managed to write a consistent part of
the project. In one month, the project was starting to have a shape. This programme continued
for four more weeks and with numerous meetings with my Supervisor.
At the moment of my arrival in Aalborg most of the work was done and the process of
rereading began.
The work continued with more writing and rereading of the project on one side and on
the other side the empirical research continued and helped in the general quality of the
project.
12
In this part we have tried to describe the process of data collection and how previous
experience as a political science student has helped in this project. We also have to mention
the previous times when we have dealt with this area of study, which helped in the decision to
write about this subject.
Next we will be able to see the key concepts identified in this project and how they
will help us to understand better the project.
3. Key Concepts
During my research for this master thesis we have identified a number of concepts that
we consider relevant in defining the core of the project. We will try to define every concept
for a better understanding of the project.
We have indentified concepts such as: alliance, organization, balance of threat,
foreign aid, security, democracy, economic and political development, geostrategic,
regional actor, Eastern Europe and defense system.
With the help of several dictionaries and other material I will try to formulate a
definition for each concept.
The first concept identified is alliance which derives from the noun ally and defined in
the Concise Oxford English Dictionary as “1. An union or association formed for mutual
benefit – a relation based on affinity – the state of being joined or associated;” or for ally “– a
state formally cooperating with another for a military of other purpose;”8 In the Larousse –
Dictionnaire de la Langue Française the verb allier defines the conclusion of a union treaty or
a signed contract of alliance.9
8
Concise Oxford Dictionary edited by Angus Stevenson and Maurice White, Oxford University Press, Oxford,
New York, 12th edition, 2011, p.34 and 36;
9
Dictionnaire de la Langue Française – lexis, Larousse, Paris, 1994, p. 59;
13
Stephen Walt, the author of “The Origins of Alliances” defines the alliance as a
formal or informal security cooperation relation between two or more states. This definition
implies a certain level of engagement and a level of benefits exchange from both sides; the
ending of the relation or the disagreement over the contract will come with some cots even if
there will be a compensation.10 This definition is important for our study as this project is
based on the theories of Stephen Walt regarding the origins of alliances.
Balance of threat is the first of the complex concepts identified in this project and it is
related to balance of threat theory proposed by Stephen Walt. In this case we have two nouns
which we will first define separately. Balance is defined in the Oxford Online English
Dictionary as “a situation in which different elements are equal or in the correct
proportions.”11 The other noun, threat, is first defined as “a statement of an intention to inflict
pain, injury, damage or hostile action on someone in retribution for something done of not
done.”12 A more relevant definition for our project is “a person of thing likely to cause
damage or danger.”
13
These two nouns put together form out a complex concept that can be
defined through the balance of threat theory proposed by Stephen Walt.
The second complex concept identified as relevant in the project is foreign aid. This
concept is formed by an adjective and a noun. Foreign is an adjective defined in the Oxford
English Dictionary as “of, from, in, or characteristic of another country or language other than
one’s own.”14 Of course that we have found other definitions but this is the most relevant for
this subject. The noun aid is defined as “the act or result of helping and synonym with support
or assistance.”15 This complex concept can be defined also as external help or assistance, and
in our case we have examples of the assistance provided by the United States of America or
by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to Romania.
Organization is another concept identified in this project. This concept is defined as
“1. - the action of organizing – systematic arrangement of element – a systematic approach to
tasks; 2. an organized group of people with a particular purpose, such as a business or
WALT Stephen, Originile Alianţelor, trad. Camelia Boca, pref. Şerban Cioculescu Institutul European, Iasi,
2008, p. 39;
11
Oxford Online Dictionary http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/balance ;
12
Oxford Online Dictionary http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/threat ;
13
Ibidem;
14
Oxford Online Dictionary http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/foreign ;
15
Cambridge Dictionaries Online http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/aid_1 ;
10
14
government department;”16 This concept is used together with international to form the
complex concept of international organization which directs us to the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and implicitly to our subject.
Another important concept to this study is security. The most relevant definition for
the understanding of this word used in the project is “the safety of a state or an organization
against criminal activity such as terrorism.”17 This concept is more relevant in a complex
design such as safety and security cooperation where this means a close and synchronized
activity of multiple bodies in order to ensure the safety and security of someone or something.
Related to Romania, after 1989 Revolution, democracy is another concept relevant to
this study. Democracy is described as a political system or a form of government where the
people have the ultimate authority. It is also describing a country that has democracy as a
form of government (ex. Romania, the new Democracy of the Eastern Europe).18
Speaking about Romania’s integration in the NATO structures, the development of the
economy and of the political aspect in country, is one of the benefits of the both sides. Here
we can identify the economic and political development as one of our concepts. This is a
complex concept where development is seen “as a specified state of growth or advancement,”
19
and in this cases the advancement of the political and economic aspects of a society.
Geostrategic is an adjective, “related to the strategy required in dealing with
geopolitical problems, and where geopolitical is related to international political relations as
influenced by geographical facts.”20
The next concept we have identified in this study, is regional actor which refers to a
country that plays a certain role in a region, identifying Romania as an actor in the region of
Central and Eastern Europe. Already mentioned, Eastern Europe is a concept defining the
16
Concise Oxford Dictionary edited by Angus Stevenson and Maurice White, Oxford University Press, Oxford,
New York, 12th edition, 2011, p. 1009;
17
Concise Oxford Dictionary edited by Angus Stevenson and Maurice White, Oxford University Press, Oxford,
New York, 12th edition, 2011, p. 1302;
18
Dictionnaire de la Langue Française – lexis, Larousse, Paris, 1994, p. 517;
19
Concise Oxford Dictionary edited by Angus Stevenson and Maurice White, Oxford University Press, Oxford,
New York, 12th edition, 2011, p. 392;
20
Idem, p. 596;
15
exact region where Romania is positioned and the region where Romania is an important
player.
As Stephen Walt mentioned that the display of power reduces when the distance is
increasing, the importance of covering a much larger range of action is important especially
for an Organization such as NATO where the proximity threats can lead to a balance or
alignment of power. 21
Last but not least, the defense system is a key concept for this project. It relates to the
military resources for protecting a country and a means of protecting something from an
attack.22 In our case, the defense system of Romania was aligned to NATO standards and
developed recently by including a Missile Defense System and a Military Base to other
structures. This improvement is not only at the technical level but also on the intelligence,
with institutions in Romania closely cooperating with those of other members of the Alliance
in order to provide common security.
The mentioned concepts can be found in other studies or dictionaries and given the
lack of time and space I was not able to develop more on each of them so I strongly suggest
consulting other sources for a more complex understanding.
4. Methodological facts
What I am trying to investigate here is why a country such as Romania, a newly
formed democracy after the 1989 Revolution and the fall of the Soviet Union, needed to
enter in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and why such an organization wanted
Romania as its member. The first encounter between the Alliance and Romania was
WALT Stephen, Originile Alianţelor, trad. Camelia Boca, pref. Şerban Cioculescu Institutul European, Iasi,
2008, p. 64;
22
Concise Oxford Dictionary edited by Angus Stevenson and Maurice White, Oxford University Press, Oxford,
New York, 12th edition, 2011, p. 374;
21
16
registered quite fast after Romania became a democracy and focused its attention
towards West. Complementary I want to investigate why NATO wanted to include
Romania on the membership list. So basically this is a study where we are trying to find
or build answers to this relationship and explain how Romania became such an
important ally in the region. Nonetheless I will try to enumerate some of the critics of
this relation, especially from the beginning of Romania’s road as a member of NATO.
After writing the Introduction and a part of the Methodology, I will continue with the
Problem Formulation which can be considered the actual starting point of my project. The
direction given by the formulation of the main question is very important because it could
reach a certain path, it can all go well and make the process easier or it could complicate
things. Thinking about this project and given the fact that this represents a Master Thesis, the
subject should be narrower and it should be related to something we already worked with and
a certain level of experience was reached.
The next step after the Problem Formulation part is discussed, we should focus on the
theory used for this project. After a solid research and knowing what to look for, a consult
with the Project Supervisor is required especially in those parts of Problem Formulation and
Theory. Given that the project is about a politico-military Alliance (NATO) I will focus my
attention to the alliance forming theories. The author we have identified as most relevant is
Stephen M. Walt with his work on The Origins of Alliances, a book where he explains how
and why the politico-military alliances are formed alongside other alliance related facts.
In this part we will also mention other essential works from this field of study, works
of authors that help not only by their reputation but also with exact focus to our particular
subject.
NATO in the New Europe – the Politics of International Socialization after the Cold
War, is another important work to the project. Alexandra GHECIU, the author of the this
piece of work, was focused on the last decade of the 20th Century and the beginning of the 21st
where countries such as the Czech Republic and Romania entered the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization in separate waves. The study focuses also on the European Union enlargement
in the same period.
17
In the Analysis part, we will try to formulate the answers to the Problem Formulation.
We will try to focus on the subject, and structure every answer in order for the reader to be
able to easily understand the connections made. By studying the relation between NATO and
Romania from both sides we should be able to say why each side wanted the other. We have
structured the Analysis part in five complementary parts. Starting with the first subchapter
called Romania between Eastern Past and Western Future, we want to clarify the situation of
Romania, and how the Socialist Republic of Romania was marked by the influence of the
Soviet Union and directs its attention more to the East before the 1989 Revolution when
Romania decided to shift its attention to the West. Gradually, the attention to the West of
Romania was increasing and the relations were strengthening. This is the part where Romania
has first interacted with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. As the relations have
developed, Romania began to understand its problems and learn what to do in order to
integrate in the Euro-Atlantic structures. This gives the name of the second subchapter of the
Analysis part, called Understanding Past Problems and Future Hopes. The next subchapter
is called Utility for NATO and Utility of NATO, where we can understand how NATO will
benefit from Romania’s integration in all levels. Also we will be able to see how Romania can
do better especially from the political and economic perspectives. Next we will be able to see
the actual process of integration in the Alliance and how Romania became an important ally
of the West. This subchapter is called Romania as an important actor and a strong ally of the
West in the region
Last but not least, we will see how the NATO integration of Romania represented an
impulse for a further European Integration in the subchapter called NATO as a first step
towards full Euro-Atlantic Integration.
After the Analysis part helped us understand the subject by answering the main
question in a defined structure of subchapter the project is finally going to a conclusion. It is
obvious that every reader will be free to draw its own, but it is important to also read the
writers’ conclusion, to be able to further analyze other perspectives.
18
An important aspect should be mentioned and it refers to the analytical levels of the
project. We have here to analyze the relation between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
and Romania, so we have two analytical levels. First we have the national level, which is
represented by the Romanian perspective of the relation. Second, we have the international
level, represented by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and all its members. Here we
have the Alliance’ perspective on the relation with Romania. These two analytical levels are
certain proof of a qualitative study over this relation.
Further we have to mention another important aspect of methodology. We have
studied here only one dimension and I strongly encourage exploring other dimensions on this
particular subject. This thesis can be included as a part of a research on this subject and it can
easily help the reader to discover other related works from the bibliography.
Given the lack of time and space, the quantity and quality of the project may be
affected. I have been researching for material and studied the subject in Aalborg and in
Bucharest and the University Central Library “Carol the First” which is one of the most
important libraries in Romania and in Eastern Europe. There I was able to find important
materials about the relationship between NATO and Romania.
Knowing very well the importance of a group project I want to say that I have strongly
considered to work with some of my colleagues but the prolonged Internship work and the
impossibility to have meetings on a daily basis in order to work for the project have pushed
me to the conclusion of working on my own. The impossibility to reach the University
campus before the 6th of May was also a decisional factor in terms of writing the thesis on my
own.
One other important fact for this project is that I was able to study some articles, books
and reports in Romanian. This gave me access to special reports and articles that have never
been translated into any other language and offered me a better perspective on the Romanian
side of the “story”.
This subject is of actuality and given the recent events in Ukraine, this relation
between Romania and NATO could develop more and more in the following period. The
19
current situation in Ukraine will provide some changes in the aspect of NATO presence in
Romania.
Other important fact to mention in the methodology part is how up to date is the
subject and how recent international events have influenced us in choosing the subject for the
thesis. When we first sketched a plan for the project the Crimeea Crisis was on-going and
since NATO have began to enhance the military exercises in the member countries that are
more closer to the Crimean Peninsula and from the Russian Federation, the subject regarding
the relation between NATO and a neighbor of Ukraine was more and more actual and fit to
the current International Relations events. Official statements in Romania are one of the first
to condemn the actions of the Russian Federation in the North of the Black Sea.
5. Problem Formulation
Problem Formulation: Why NATO needed Romania and why Romania needed
NATO?
The main question we will try to answer in my project is focused on the Romanian
process of integration in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Furthermore the question is
focused on the relation between Romania and NATO after the integration when the role of the
Eastern European country in the region began to develop more and more.
Basically we
will try to show why Romania wanted to join the North Atlantic
Alliance in the first place, in the beginning of the 90s when the idea of NATO’s enlargement
was culminating and when Romania began to show its interest towards the West after the
1989 Revolution when the Communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu was put to an end.
20
From the NATO’s point of view, we will try to show why Romania was important for
the enlargement of the Alliance and what were the strong points and the less strong points of
the country.
As a country positioned in a geopolitical area of strategic importance, Romania is
seeking to play an important role in the process of defining and implementation of the
cooperation and security assistance policies in the Euro-Atlantic region. In this project, with
the help of the main question, we will try to show how the two sides reach a high level of
cooperation, with Romania becoming a strong ally in the region and an important promoter of
regional security. 23
We will also show the importance of the cooperation of the two sides for the security
and safety in the region of Eastern Europe and the Black Sea.
Given that Romania found itself in a difficult position in the 90s, between two regions
defined by security problems, the Western Balkans and the region of former USSR, the
question of integration in the North Atlantic Alliance was first raised by both sides.
The main question can make the difference between a good project and a great
project so we had a lot of thinking about it before a final decision. Alongside my Supervisor,
we decided to focus on this relation between Romania and NATO and to analyze it. The
timing with the current situation in Ukraine is in our advantage as the subject is becoming
more and more current and interesting to study.
Another important aspect for the problem formulation part is that it can give a
certain direction to the project, having two major possibilities, a project focused on the subject
or a project that can be divided, which is not a good thing to happen. Hopefully we have set
the thing strait and the problem formulation will help us focus on the particular relation
between Romania and NATO. We should not forget to mention that we have previously
discussed with our Supervisor this subject and what is the best question to ask in order to be
focused on the subject and have a great analysis.
This subject raises interest not only because it is focused the relation between an
international organization specialized in security cooperation and a member country but also
Romania’s National Security Strategy ,Bucharest, 2007, pg. 29 available online at
http://presidency.ro/static/ordine/SSNR/SSNR.pdf ;
23
21
by how this relations has been developing during the years since the idea of integration was
born for Romania and the North Atlantic Alliance started thinking about enlargement in
Eastern Europe.
Being able to access and study materials in Romanian regarding the relationship
with NATO, offers a great chance to build a good project with a consistent bibliography
alongside English and French language materials. Having the chance to study Romanian
authors in their native language makes the project more complex.
The problem formulation will introduce the importance of the security cooperation
promoted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization within its borders. Also we can stress the
importance of the strategy of regional security cooperation and how Romania is acting to
perfect the political and strategic efforts of security of the North Atlantic Alliance and the
European Union.
“Why NATO needed Romania and why Romania needed NATO?” is a
question on behalf we can prove that NATO was a first step towards Romania’s integration in
the European Union. We will show that Romania benefited from acceding into NATO within
the second wave of countries, when the Organization required a more consistent political and
economic development for a country to reach the member status. We will show that NATO,
by these political and economic development requirements, reassured that the future member
Romania will promote democratic and economic efficient solutions to security cooperation
within NATO boarders and in the region.
My personal experience, working with the OSCE and participating at joint meetings
with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization regarding the Euro-Atlantic regional security
cooperation helped in the process of selecting the materials and to decide to analyze this
subject.
An important aspect of the Romania’s integration into NATO was the relations with
the United States. This relation debuted in the early 90s and has been a strong factor for the
development of the Eastern-European country and its direction towards the Western Europe.
“While the US–Romanian partnership established a path toward NATO membership for
22
Romania, the case for Ukraine and Georgia was less clear and more complicated. The US
Ukraine partnership began in September 1996 as an effort to bolster Ukrainian sovereignty.
This was a similar purpose to that which was behind the US–Georgia Strategic Partnership
Commission established in 2009.” 24
Official visits of former Presidents of the United States such as Clinton and George
W. Bush have come to promote the strong partnership between the two countries in the world
and open the relations between Romania and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
All in all this problem formulation should give me the direction to a good analysis
of the cooperation between Romania and NATO and why this relation was possible at the
beginning.
24
EDSTRÖM Håkan, HAALAND MATLARY Janne and PETERSSON Magnus, editors, NATO: The Power
of Partnerships, New Security Challenges Collection, Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire, New York, 2011, p. 23;
23
III. Theory and Literature
This part, dedicated to the theory on which this project is based on, plays an important
role in preparing the project for the analysis part. The quality of the theory part depends
mostly on the previous academic experience, what we have studied before and what research
we have on the particular subject. Moreover this part depends on what we choose in terms of
books, articles and studies regarding the selected theory.
After previously thinking about the subject of the project and setting straight the
problem formulation I started the process of selecting the material for the theory part. This
process of selection is composed by two stages of selection, the first one on which we select
the materials after title, description and recommendations and the second part where we select
the material after reading and getting them trough our personal filter. Given the large amount
of texts, books, articles available on the subject we found the suitable for this project.
This project is about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization also known as the North
Atlantic Alliance and it’s now member country Romania. Since NATO is a political and
military alliance which essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its
members through political and military means25, I have selected the book of Stephen M.
WALT, “The Origins of Alliance” as a major inspiration in terms of theory for this project.
In this book, Stephen WALT presents the balance of threat theory and how states respond to
threats. He focuses on the Middle East example but his study is very useful for our subject
and we will try to use it in order to explain the NATO enlargement especially with the first
and second wave of Eastern European countries. In this context, we will use Stephan Walt’s
work in order to explain why Romania needed NATO and vice versa.
One of the theories from Stephen Walt’s book is the balance of threat theory which
is our theory for this project, in order to help us explaining the approach between NATO and
Romania. We can relate this to Romania’s will to reduce the threat possibilities from the
25
What is NATO? Available online at http://www.nato.int/nato-welcome/index.html
24
region by joining the North Atlantic Alliance. From the other direction, NATO wanted to
acquire Romania as a member especially for the geostrategic position than can help in
balancing the threats coming from the former Soviet Union and the Middle East.
In his book Stephen Walt uses three main questions in order to describe the ideological
affinities between superpowers and their protégés. The questions are related to what the two
parts have in common, in what measure the common characteristics encourage or discourage
the coalition and what conditions affects these tendencies of coalesce. In addition a very
interesting fact pointed by Walt in his book, is related to the coalition between a group of
states with similar particularities with other states that are in a process of changing but are
willing to focus on the same particularities as the main group. In this case, the two waves of
NATO’s enlargement represented an important step for the main group of members.
Practically, the new European democracies in the 90s, including Romania, expressed their
will to be part of the biggest political and military alliance.26
A relevant part of Walt’s book for our analysis is the first part of the Explaining
Alliance Formation chapter called Alliances as a Response to Threat: Balancing and
Bandwagoning. In this context, as Walt state, states join alliances to protect themselves from
states or coalitions whose superior resources could pose a threat. It was clearly that after the
end of the communist regime after the December 1989 Revolution and even with the collapse
of the Soviet Union, Romanian was still threaten by the Russian Federation and its influence
in the region. Wanting to align with the Western European states have got Romania in the
position to consider, in the beginning of the 90s, a future NATO membership which will
eliminate the possibility of Russian Federation to have an influence over Romania.
This is an emulation of Walt’s theory over the case in which Romania joined NATO
comes to help us with answering the main question of this project: Why NATO needed
Romania and why Romania needed the Alliance?
In addition to the balancing behavior, we can also relate the subject to the foreign aid
from Stephen Walt’s book. “Foreign aid is a special form of balancing behavior. Therefore,
the greater the external threat facing the recipient, the greater the effect of aid on the
alignment.” This is one of Walt’s hypotheses on the Foreign Aid and Alliance Formation. We
WALT Stephen, Originile Alianţelor, trad. Camelia Boca, pref. Şerban Cioculescu, Institutul European, Iasi,
2008, p. 247-248
26
25
can easily relate the foreign aid, as special form of balancing behavior, to our subject. The
relationship between Romania and the United States has been influential on the future NATO
membership of the Eastern European country. So first we had the Strategic Partnership
between the United States and Romania which ultimately was in the benefit of a future
relation between NATO and Romania. “Strong deep ties connect the people of the United
States and Romania through cultural, economic, and scientific relations. The Strategic
Partnership reflects the excellent and broadening cooperation between our countries to
promote security, democracy, free market opportunities, and cultural exchange.”27
In this sense, Walt’s work on the subject also offers us a direction in terms of foreign
aid and alliance formation. One of the hypotheses presented in Walt’s work is that the more
aid one country or group of countries can provide to others, there are many chances that the
two sides will align and form an alliance. In the NATO – Romania example, the Eastern
European country has focused on the North Atlantic Alliance in order to get rid of the
influence exercised over the past century by the Soviet Union. Also identified Walt’s book is
the fact that the foreign aid, in our case provided by NATO, can be tempting for a country to
align with others. 28
In our case, we cannot say that the major factor for Romania to align with NATO was
not the external threat exclusively, but more of a combination of factors. It is true that
Romania was found in the 90s between two regions of security instability, Yugoslavia and the
former Soviet Union, but this was only a piece of the whole puzzle. Romania also wanted
stability for itself and to focus its attention to the West, to restore the historical influence
exercised by the Occident in Romania.
So Stephen Walt’s work is more than relevant to this study and we will further
mention its work in the remaining of the project.
27
Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership for the 21st Century Between the United States of America and
Romania available online at http://www.state.gov/p/eur/rls/or/172241.htm ;
28
WALT Stephen, Originile Alianţelor, trad. Camelia Boca, pref. Şerban Cioculescu, Institutul European, Iasi,
2008, p. 247-248;
26
A helpful work for this project was the book of Alexandra GHECIU called NATO in
the “New Europe”: The Politics of International Socialization after the Cold War. This is
not a theory related work but more of a description of how “NATO has carried out systematic
practices of socialization in an attempt to promote a particular set of liberal democratic
norms” in the former Eastern Bloc countries and extend the Atlantic community into a region
that, up until 1989, was associated with the inimical other of the Western world.”29 We can
see here how countries such as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania began interacting
with different organizations in the international community and especially with the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization. This interaction debuted shortly after 1989 and the fall of the
Soviet Union when these countries started to show their interest toward the West. From the
other standpoint we can see the how NATO wanted to transmit its values and norms into a
region that was previous influenced by the Soviet Union.
This work is based on the experience of Alexandra GHECIU in Romania and other
Eastern European countries alongside knowledge gathered from International Relation experts
from Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania. This will help us understand some of the
changes that took part in the countries from the former Eastern Bloc, changes that helped in
the approach towards the Euro-Atlantic community. Also we can see a perspective of how
NATO has used a series of practices to promote the Western-like governance into countries
that presented the potential to become the Alliance members. In this way we can see the
importance of Romania entering NATO with the “second wave” of countries, alongside
Bulgaria and Slovakia, Slovenia and the Baltic States, in which Romania was more prepared
not only from the military point of view but also by political and economic perspectives.
We have here a book where we can see and analyze the importance of the NATO’s
promotion of liberal democratic norms into the Eastern Europe where at that time “future”
leaders were trained in the spirit and sharing the values of Western democracies.
Moreover it is a well done record of events since the beginning of the interactions
between Romania the North Atlantic Alliance and does not interfere with the balance of threat
theory.
GHECIU Alexandra, NATO in the New Europe – The Politics of International Socialization after the Cold
War, Stanford University Press, 2005, p. 77;
29
27
In addition to the theory presented by Stephen Walt in its book “The Origins of
Alliance” and the details from Alexandra Gheciu’s book we can identify a series of other
materials very helpful in the analysis and in the process of writing the entire thesis. One of
those materials is the NATO Membership Action Plan which is relevant in terms of
understanding how the integration process of Romania. Since the Membership Action Plan is
a programme of advice, assistance and practical support specially build for the individual
needs of the countries that want to become a member of the Alliance helped us in
understanding what were the demands for Romania to become a member and how did the
country fulfill those demands.30 It is important to mention that Romania was one of the first
countries to become a member of the Alliance trough the Membership Action Plan after the
pervious experience of the first wave when countries like Poland, the Czech Republic and
Hungary joined NATO.
Other significant contribution to the project was brought by official documents
especially from the Romanian side. We have to mention first the Romanian National Security
Strategy built-up in 2007 after Romania was member of both the European Union and the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The National Security Strategy responds to the legitimate
need and obligation to protect against risks and threats which can endanger the rights and
liberties of humans and the national values and interests.31 One other important document is
the analysis from the Declaration of the Romanian President Traian Basescu in front of the
Parliament which took part on the 4th of April 2014 with the occasion of marking a decade of
Romania in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and its structures. In this declaration, the
President underlines the achievements of the country during a decade of membership, and
how Romania became a strong promoter in the region and internationally of the values and
norms shared with NATO. The President also mentioned the strong cooperation with the
United States, cooperation which made possible the placement of several Military Airbases
and the Missile Defense System from Deveselu possible.32 In other words, we have official
documents and statements in order to see the exact results of the cooperation between the two
sided and how every part benefited or not from this integration. From the majority of the
30
NATO and the Membership Action Plan available online at
http://www.nato.int/cps/ro/natolive/topics_37356.htm;
31
Romanian National Security Strategy p. 7 available online at
http://www.presidency.ro/static/ordine/SSNR/SSNR.pdf ;
32
Press Release – (1st of April 2014) – The Discourse of the Romanian President, Mr. Traian Băsescu, at the
solemn meeting of both Chambers of the Parliament dedicated to mark 10 years since Romania’s integration in
the North Atlantic Alliance and of 65 years of existence for NATO, available online at http://www.presidency.ro ;
28
statements and the official documents presented by both Romania and NATO we have a winwin situation even if we will see some difficulties encountered in the integration process.
Ainius LAŠAS work called, European Union and NATO Expansion –Central and
Eastern Europe has also been very helpful in terms of studying the NATO expansion and the
approach on Romania’s case.
The book is also studying the case of European Union
expansion and how the NATO enlargement represented a favorable experience for the
countries that had further entered in the European Union. Romania was also one of the
countries that have become a member of Union three years after joining the North Atlantic
Alliance. We will see what impact had the NATO integration on preparing Romania for the
full Euro-Atlantic integration.
This book is also a good opportunity of reafing about how the European displays of
influences have changed over the years, beginning with the end of World War II. Also it is a
good opportunity to learn how the changes that came after the 1989 Revolution in the national
level influenced Romania’s interaction with the international organizations and especially
with the North Atlantic Alliance.
Having a complex approach over the subject in the book of Ainius LAŠAS we can
also find some critique over Romania’s and Bulgaria’s entrance in the Alliance with some
interesting views over the economic and political reforms. This can help us see some critique
perspective over the first and second wave of enlargement.
One other important piece of work for the project is the book of Zoltan BARANY
called The Future of NATO Expansion - Four Case Studies, which comprise among other
three, the case of Romania’s integration in the North Atlantic Alliance. This is a study that
focuses on the second round of the NATO enlargement which includes the case of Romania.
Given the subject this represents a good opportunity to have another view on the enlargement
in order to have a better personal opinion about the subject. We can see on what level
Romania was prepared to enter the Alliance and we can compare with the other three cases
presented in Barany’s book. In the analysis, we will use the book in order to support the
arguments of why Romania needed NATO and why the Alliance needed the Eastern
European country as its member.
29
So, alongside the theory of Stephen Walt regarding the balance of threat, we have
presented here a series of works that are and will prove as useful in the remaining of the
project. To be very clear, we have only one theory on which the project is based and the other
works are mainly analyses over the subject and without any interference with Stephan Walt’s
theory.
30
IV. Analysis
1. Romania between Eastern Past and Western Future
In order to be more effective in proving the necessity of NATO membership for
Romania, we have to analyze the recent history of the country. This chapter is set to follow
the changes registered in the country after the 1989 Revolution and the fall of the Communist
Era. We will see how the reform in the Military System has created a more appropriate level
for the future integration and we will follow the changes in the Romanian leadership, changes
that influenced in setting the path for the country to become a member of the North Atlantic
Alliance.
Romania’s past is far from being forgotten. After the World War II ended we have
witnessed the split between the Eastern bloc and the Western countries alongside the divided
Germany. Romania was set to be under the Soviet Republic strict guidance (George
Marshall’s discourse). After a period that lasted more then forty years Romania have went to
the challenge represented by communism and illustrious leaders such as Gheorghe
Gheorghiu-Dej or Nicolae Ceauşescu, characters that alongside the system have poisoned
Romania, toxicity that has and is still affecting Romanians today. After the Romanian
Revolution in 1989, the country’s horizons have enlarged. After 1990, a democratic multipartite system was reformed and a Parliamentary system was re-established. Things have
began to change radically, a new and free press has emerged and in 1991 a new Constitution
was adopted, guaranteeing human rights, ensuring full political rights for minorities, and
establishing the Rule of Law among a host of other, old-fashioned, western-style laws shaped
in full accordance with established democratic values.33 New perspectives and new
opportunities were in play and the country’s international relations began to multiply. During
the `90 Romania’s role in the region has became more important then ever given the status of
a bridge between the Middle East and the West. Two main elements defined Romania as a
33
Romania on its way to NATO – factsheets, Ministry of Public Information, Bucharest, 2000, p. 38;
31
link to the Middle East. First is the Danube river that it the link between Rotterdam’s and
Constanta’s ports which is the main naval link of Europe. The second element is the Black
Sea which links Romania to all the countries on the Black Sea area and also represents a link
with the Mediterranean Sea trough the Dardanelle and Bosfor straits.
In the 1990s Romania also went to a process of Political stabilization being a new
democracy. During this period Romania proved its political and economic role in the region.
Also the geostrategic element became very important for Romania and its partners in the
region. Since 1989 until 2000 Romania have passed trough three successive and successful
transitions of Presidential and Parliamentarian power, and proved that is a democratic Nation
governed by the Rule of Law. The country encountered numerous problems in terms of
political and economic reforms but in terms International Relations and Diplomacy, Romania
managed to advertise its will and availability for a future integration in the structures of
NATO.
In a period of twelve years Romania progressively raised interest for all of the EuroAtlantic structures, starting with the European Commission, NATO and ending with the
European Union. This can be seen as signs of historical reclaim and reconciliation after the
Communist bloc has fallen. The interests of Romania began to rapidly shift from East to the
Western democracies. Given the fact that Romania was strongly linked with the Occident
before the start of the World War II, this was not something unfamiliar in Romanian
consciousness.
Alongside other changes that took place in Romania during the 90s one of the most
important as for a future NATO integration was the Military Reform. The reform began right
after the new political regime was established and a new Constitution was adopted. This
process was not easy but there were lots of elements of real usefulness for the ongoing reform
process. Romania Military System was at that time one of the strongest in the region, given by
the number of soldiers and equipment.
32
The Military Reform was of an extreme importance for a future NATO integration but
also to ensure that Romania has a strong regional role in terms of joint defense systems. It is
known that Romania was part of the OSCE and participated at a great number of coordinated
programs. Military Reform was focusing first on the Defense transparency that was ensured
by an open defense planning and organizing the budget processes which is discussed in detail
within the specialized Defense Commissions of the Parliamentarian Chambers and approved
by the Parliament. The major role of the transparency is that the public should have access all
time to the process of military reform.34
One of the most important facts about the reform is that its implementation was
independent of a NATO invitation to join its structures. At the time Romania signed the
partnership with NATO “the preparations for membership have accelerated the reforms,
providing the necessary framework for streamlined efforts and assuring that selected priorities
are followed.”35
The entire Military Reform process has been enjoying a strong political a public
support. The support was not only for the reform but also for restructuring and building the
forces necessary not only for national security but also for the contribution to the peace and
security of our country in the region and in Europe as a whole.36
The military reform in Romania was proven to be effective especially in preparing to
align the Armed Forces to the NATO structures. Mentioning the key areas of military reform
is very important to show what really changed during the 1990s: 1. Force Restructuring and
Readiness; 2. Defense Planning; 3. ASOC (Air Sovereignty Operations Center)
Implementation; 4. Language Training; 5. Participation in Peace Support Operations; 6.
Military Education and Training; 7. Armed Forces Modernization; 8. Human Resources
management; C4I (Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Information
System) 10. Logistics and infrastructures.
Since we have mentioned the Military Reform, we should speak, inevitably about the
changes in Romania’s leadership during the 90s, changes that influenced not only the political
Romania on its way to NATO – factsheets, Ministry of Public Information, Bucharest, 2000,p. 51;
Ibidem;
36
Ibidem;
34
35
33
and economic reform but also how Romania managed to interact with the European
Commission, NATO and the European Union.
The firs years after the 1989 Revolution, Romania was confronting with political
instability and conflicts between political and union leaders. Since 1989 until 1992 Romania’s
Government was ruled by FSN (National Salvation Front) which was a party formed by a part
of the leaders that were responsible for the 1989 Revolution. Under FSN, the country
confronted with political instability and few steps were taken towards a complete reform
process. After 1992, when PDSR (Social-Democrats) won the elections, the country reached a
certain level of political stability although the democratic reform process was slow.
Regarding important changes in Romania’s leadership we should mention the last four
years of the 90s, the most progressive period since the 1989 Revolution. Although
progressive, the lack of political continuity and commitment toward agreed targets has turned
once again Romania to the communist legacy.
[Finally, the tables turned in 1996. In the June local elections
opposition parties scored a number of impressive victories. Even the former
tennis star, Ilie Nastase – supported by the Party of Social Democracy in
Romania (PDSR, formerly DNSF) – was unexpectedly routed in his quest for
the mayoralty in Bucharest. The November 1996 national and presidential
elections resulted in the triumph of the Democratic Convention of Romania
(CDR) – comprised by fifteen disparate groups including greens, liberals,
and Christian Democrats – and its presidential candidate, Constantinescu.
These developments were widely anticipated to signal the advent of a
positive shift toward more democratic politics. In a short time, the president
and Victor Ciorbea’s new coalition government made some painful but
necessary economic decisions and embarked on a enlightened minority
policy (the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania [UDMR] became a
member of the coalition and had cabinet level positions in it. The favorable
reception of the new Romanian political and economic orientation was also
reflected by the country’s national prestige.]37
37
BARANY Zoltan, The Future of NATO Expansion - Four Case Studies, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, 2003, p.136;
34
The NATO enlargement has began in the late 90s when the U.S. Secretary of State,
Madeleine Albright presented four reasons for NATO enlargement: to protect against future
wars in Europe, to strengthen NATO by adding capable new allies, to defend Europe’s gains
in democracy, peace and integration, and finally, to right the wrongs of the past.38
[NATO’s enlargement will show that those countries, which at Yalta
had their destinies chosen for them, will in the next century be shaping
their own destinies as free and independent countries. It is both a
moral as well as a self-serving obligation that we have towards the
new democracies.] 39
One of the most important step towards Romania’s intergration in the NATO
Structures was the period between 1997 and 1999 when the dialogue between NATO
reprezentatives and the Romanian side has intensified even and after the announcement of the
first wave of enlargemen with former Communist bloc countries, in which Romania was not
included. At that time, the U.S. and the U.K. have argued that although Romania had carried
out important reforms under the leadership of President Constantinescu, it still had a long way
to go before it could be seen as sufficiently Western-like, that is, liberal-democratic, to be
eligible for an admission into the Euro-Atliantic security community.40
Romania encountered a problem on its way to Euro-Atlantic integration that the firstwave did not. The condition of democratic, liberal reform was not sufficient for a country to
enter the Euro-Atlantic structures anymore. Romania accepted this idea and although not sure
about the NATO integration continued the process of post-Communist reconstruction. After
the 9/11 events, the unprecedented importance attached to threats posed by actors like Al
LAŠAS Ainius, European Union and NATO Expansion –Central and Eastern Europe, Palgrave Macmillan,
2010, p. 65;
39
Idem, p. 79;
40
GHECIU Alexandra, NATO in the New Europe – The Politics of International Socialization after the Cold
War, Stanford University Press, 2005, p. 157;
38
35
Qaeda led the allies to rethink the balance between freedom and security within its limits.
NATO presented a new vision to be more involved in interaction with Central and Eastern
European countries. This vision found expression in a series of institutional arrangements that
were established in the aftermath of Washington Summit. 41 The fact that Romania came close
to being accepted in the first wave had a positive impact in terms of continuing the
cooperation process between the government and the Alliance experts in order to complete the
integration. This fact is stated also in the book of Alexandra GHECIU: “Of all the countries
excluded at the Madrid Summit, Romania was one of the countries, if not the country, that
was the closest to being admitted. It is thus valuable to examine the reasons for the exclusion
of this controversial candidate, and to analyze the nature of interaction between NATO and
Romanian actors both before and after the Madrid Summit. As we shall see, NATO carried
out a comprehensive set of socialization practices, and enjoyed a reasonable degree of
success. Romanian actors accepted, even proactively sought, NATO’s guidance in reforming
their country, even though, as mentioned above, they had no guarantee that Romania would
be included in NATO as a reward for their reform efforts.”42
In the last years of the 90s Romania registered some consistent improvement in the
political and economic levels. A series of reforms started by the current leaders at that time
have been working towards the development the country. In that context the attention of the
International Community and especially of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was raised.
After numerous consultations and discussions over the integration of Romania in the first
wave the decision was to leave the country outside of the group of three countries consisting
in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. Years after the decision, NATO official
recognized that Romania was the closest to join the group of three in the first wave. This
decision actually worked in its favor. The North Atlantic Alliance began a process that would
help Romania develop more and more, especially political and economic terms.
During several years NATO applied some teaching practices. They began with the
Romania Political Elites. The teaching process was carried out within a series of forums such
as accession dialogues, consultations and debates between Romanian leader and NATO
GHECIU Alexandra, NATO in the New Europe – The Politics of International Socialization after the Cold
War, Stanford University Press, 2005p. 159;
42
GHECIU Alexandra, NATO in the New Europe – The Politics of International Socialization after the Cold
War, Stanford University Press, 2005, p. 26;
41
36
officials. We have one example that show how things have worked during the late 90s. During
the year 1997 a team of British advisers and senior Romanian defense and foreign affairs
officials started the consultations aiming the process of adopting democratic policies and
building NATO-prescribed liberal democratic institutions in Romania.
43
These teaching
practices were not encountered in the integration process of the firs wave countries that
entered the Alliance. For many reasons, the fact that Romania was set to become a member in
the second wave of the NATO enlargement worked in favor of our country.
Leaders from that time supported and shared the values of the Alliance but NATO also
assured trough a series of programmes that the future leaders share the vision promoted by its
structures. NATO organized a series of educational programmes aimed at shaping the ways in
which future Romanian leader would interpret the world, and how they would define the
standard of behaving in both national and international contexts. These educational practices
focused on the future elites are similar to those practices for that time leaders. One example of
institutions that assured the future prospects of Romania is the Marshall Center for Security
Studies.44
An important aspect about NATO’s work in Romania during the late 90s was the close
comparison with first-wave members, especially with the Czech Republic.
We should not forget that although Romania was forced to become a communist
country under the Soviet influence after the Yalta Conference and that the identity of
Romania was not similar to those countries that were under the Russian influence even before
the beginning of the World War I. With an identity of the “bridge to east” and rather
influenced by the French culture rather than the Russian one, Romania was historically more
of Western driven country.
In the 90s Romania came with an irrefutable damage made by the Communist era in
terms of liberal and democratic values. Ironically, Romania’s relations with the West were
quite strong even in the communist era and especially under the leadership of Nicolae
Ceausescu, who was one of the few communist leaders that have had strong relations not only
with the Western Europe but also with the United States. He was considered a “bridge”
between the United States and the Middle East because of Romania’s good relation with
GHECIU Alexandra, NATO in the New Europe – The Politics of International Socialization after the Cold
War, Stanford University Press, 2005, p.176;
44
Idem, p.180;
43
37
regional leaders. Romania in the 70s and 80s was the first country in the World in terms of
export of oil extracting and refining equipment. This proves that Romania’s history was
inclined towards West even in “darkest times” of Soviet influence.
Nonetheless, Romania had to think about reform and liberal and democratic values in
order to enter the NATO and EU structures. This, combined with NATO’s international
socialization practices had given Romania a great opportunity to cooperate with these
Western structures towards its on evolution and to the acceptance in a larger family that share
certain values and ideas.
This chapter is focused on analyzing Romania’s modern and contemporary
history in order to have a better understanding of how the country has returned to its
western-like roots after a communist period of more than half of a century. This part is
important in order to understand why a newly formed democracy wanted and needed to
be part of an alliance characterized by liberal and democratic values in order to help its
development. Also we should be able to see the opportunity of the North Atlantic
Alliance to plan its enlargement in the region trough the cooperation with Romania.
Since we should relate this part of the project with the “balance of threat” theory
we will explain the shift of Romania’s towards the Western Europe and the United
States as an action of understanding the damages of the Communist and the bad
influence which the Soviet Union represented. As Walt said, states join alliances to
protect themselves from states o coalitions whose superior resources could pose a
threat.45 Unwilling to risk an influence of the Russian Federation, Romania has
expressed its intentions to have close relations with the Western Europe and North
America. In this direction the obvious choice for Romania was to become a member of
the North Atlantic Alliance. First steps towards this direction have come early in the 90s
promoting these intentions on a diplomatic level. In 1994 Romania was already signing
the Partnership for Peace, NATO’s first and most complex format of cooperation with
states outside the organization.
45
WALT Stephen, The Origins of Alliances, Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 1987, p. 18;
38
2. Understanding the Past Problems and the Future Hopes
For Romania the past problems are defined by the end of the World War II, the
influence of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and the continuous battle with the remains
and influences of the Communist Era after the 1989 Revolution. During the 90s, Romania
began to understand how its past is affective the evolution in both national and international
contexts.
The name and idea of this chapter came into my mind after reading the word of the
U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Madeleine Albright during the NATO Summit in Brussels.
President Bill Clinton sent Madeleine Albright, State Department and Senior Adviser Charles
Gati and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili, three of the most prominent
Eastern European expats, to pay visits into Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Romania, Bulgaria and Albania.46
One of the most important past problems was that after the Yalta conference, the
future of many countries has been decided by others, things that must not be forgotten. It is
case of countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Since its inception, NATO seemed to have
had very little to do with the promotion of democratic values and norms; rather, its paramount
concern has been security.47 Significant changes were made in the NATO policies only after
the first wave of Eastern European countries integration. Romania has been one of the first
countries that encountered NATO’s interest in terms of possibility of promoting the values
and norms of the Alliance, as being part of the second wave of countries that joined the
LAŠAS Ainius, European Union and NATO Expansion –Central and Eastern Europe, Palgrave Macmillan,
2010, p. 73;
47
Idem p. 87;
46
39
organization. We can say that Romania benefited from this and an accelerated process of
reform and restructuring helped Romania reaching future goals.
For Romania, past problems are synonyms with Communist and neo-Communist rule
for more than fifty years. In the late 90s Romania registered a period of strong reform after
more than seven years of actual stagnation. This reform period has proven not enough for
Romania’s dream of becoming a NATO member.
Speaking about Romanian people’s
opinion regarding NATO, most of them supported the idea that Romania can become a strong
ally in Eastern Europe. Although supportive about accession into NATO structures,
Romanians were not so overwhelmed by the idea of foreign military presence on their
territory and the use of the territory in military purposes. It is known that the political actors
from Romania interested in NATO integration were the pro-West reformers but they were not
concerned about a possible threat of military aggression against Romania. 48 So we could more
or less say that the interest of Romania’s integrations in the Euro-Atlantic structures was
driven first by the will to gain more trust by the West and raise the credibility of the western
investors to come to our country.
In the beginning of the 90s Romania’s capability of reconstruction was slow mostly
because of the low rate of foreign investment. Alongside other gains Romania’s wish to be
part of a structure such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was motivated by the link
between NATO membership and economic growth influenced by the influx of Western
Capital.
Speaking about the Military Reform, Romanian specialists in the field were interested
in the evolution of the defense system in their country influenced by the NATO accession.
This interest was not a result of fear of an attack on Romania’s territory but more of a wish to
change the reputation in the region. Moreover Romania wanted to become a powerful player
in a region dominated by Russian influence where we have the cases of Ukraine, Republic of
Moldova and especially the Black Sea. Romania’s opening to the Black Sea represented a
great opportunity in both geo-strategic and economic terms. Although Romania was a
Communist country and part of the Eastern Block its relation with the Soviet Union and later
the Russian Federation was not a close one. So the wish of Romanian leaders, foreign affairs
GHECIU Alexandra, NATO in the New Europe – The Politics of International Socialization after the Cold
War, Stanford University Press, 2005, p. 92;
48
40
and military specialists was that Romania should become an important player in the region
but only under the NATO close supervision.
For Romania at that time was very important to understand its priorities regarding a
future integration in the Euro-Atlantic structures. Given that NATO did not accepted Romania
from the first wave of Eastern Countries proved to be a key element in the future of Romania.
We cannot doubt that the rejection was a good thing for political leaders and for the people at
all. This thing proved that without strong commitment towards liberal and democratic values
promoted by NATO and significant results in the reform process, the West is not prepared to
accept Romania into their yard.
After Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary joined NATO in 1999, marking the
first wave of Central European countries that enlarged the Alliance, it was clear that in the
next wave, Romania, Slovenia and Austria are likely to be the next members early in the
twenty-first century. This enlargement showed the will of NATO to create a large security
system in Europe, in close cooperation with the European Union and the European
Commission. In close cooperation with NATO enlargement, the EU enlargement will also
help build a more secure system of countries and with the support of the United States, former
Eastern Bloc countries should be able to recover both economical and politically. The support
of the United Stated should not be misinterpreted as a coordination of the European Security.
Security in the European region is now more of a Europe’s concern rather than the United
States’. At the time when Romania was ready to enter the North Atlantic structures, one of the
most important concerns of the Organization was the cooperation with the Russian
Federation. It was very important that both the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization should have a close cooperation with Russia. This cooperation was realized
trough institutions such as the NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council and the Euro-Atlantic
Partnership Council. In addition to those institutions the presence of the United Nations,
World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Council of Europe was very important in the
development of the relations between Russia and the Western Structures. These relations will
also help Russia develop.49
DUIGNAN Peter, NATO – It’s Paste, Present and Future, Stanford University Press, 2000, Stanford,
California, p. 119;
49
41
An important aspect to mention is that one of first supporters of Romania’s integration
in the North Atlantic Alliance was France in time of President Chirac. Since the support was
official a series of campaigns in terms of public relations took place. The fact that France was
a supporter for Romania’s integration in NATO was considered extremely important for the
future integration process.
After Romania failed to accompany the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary into the
first wave of NATO enlargement, the trust of the leadership into the Alliance was not lost.
Moreover, the decision and the fact that Romania was the first under the line was a motivating
factor for the country’s elite. In terms of internal changes, Romanian political leaders began a
process of publicly support the country’s integration. In terms of cooperation Romania was
more then ever determined to do what is necessary in order to become a member. After the
announcement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that the requirements for
membership have change due to some difficulties encountered in the case of the Czech
Republic, the continuity regarding the political and economic reforms was a must for
Romania. After the successful period between 1996 and 1999 where the reform process was
accelerated, the shift of power in the Romanian leadership was not that beneficial for the
continuity of the process. Although much more slow, the reform process continued and by
the end the year 2000, Romania started adopting new laws and make adjustments in order to
continue its road to become strong democracy with a stable economy. Since the Romanian
new government expressed its will to continue the integration process by accelerating the
political and economic reforms the North Atlantic Treaty Organization began implementing
the strategy to help the country in the integration process.
As we have previously mentioned in the first chapter of the analysis, NATO started
among other practices, a programme to train the future elites. This programme was
implemented not only in Romania but in several Central and Eastern European Countries. The
programme consisted in teaching and training young officials from the Ministries of Defense
and Foreign Affairs. The young officials participated at courses held in various Western
centers such as NATO Defense College, Marshall Center and the Geneva Center for Security
Studies. In addition there were other centers that organized training courses such as Vienna
and the NATO School in Oberammergau. In these centers, Romanian students and trainees
learned not only the Western-like values but they also learned how to deal and react under
42
different scenarios. The goals of the teachers consisted in shaping the behavioral patterns and
the beliefs of the students from Central and Eastern Europe.50 Alexandra Gheciu mentioned
that the data about the educational activity was collected in Vienna trough participant
observation.
In the context of the future involvement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in
Eastern Europe, the influence of the European countries should raise and overpass the one of
the United States. Since the idea of a NATO enlargement in Eastern Europe first appeared, the
United States wanted to hand over the leadership of the Alliance to Europe in order to
increase their influence over the structures. The enlargement that will include countries
formerly under the influence of the Soviet Union is something to be dealt with by the
European leaders with the support of the United States. The countries wishing at that time to
become members of the North Atlantic Alliance were between two regions of security
instability, one represented by Yugoslavia and former members of the Social Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia and the other influenced the former republics of the Soviet Union.
Romania itself was in the same situation, with neighbors such as Yugoslavia, Ukraine and the
Republic of Moldova had to reassure the international community of its liberal democratic
values and that can help to the safety and security of the region.
“In the future, terrorism and biological, chemical, and nuclear warfare
will have to be dealt with by NATO and the Atlantic Alliance. There will also
need to be solidarity among NATO members to face common challenges in the
Middle East and in the gulf. A commitment to defend all the countries of Europe,
whether members of NATO or not, will be necessary to ensure peace throughout
Europe.
Leadership of NATO, therefore, should pass from the Americans to the
Europeans early in the twenty-first century. Germany is a logical choice to take
over from the United State. Fears of Germany are no longer justified. Deutsche
mark nationalism has replaced German militarism for the fifty years; now there is
the euro currency to replace the deutsche mark. Germany is tied irrevocably to
the West by the EU, the euro and NATO. It has the vision of a greater Europe
that neither the French nor the British have.[…] We need Europe and Europe
GHECIU Alexandra, NATO in the New Europe – The Politics of International Socialization after the Cold
War, Stanford University Press, 2005, p. 179;
50
43
needs us, and world peace is best served by a cooperation Atlantic Alliance
system with fair burden-sharing of military expenses and a lesser leadership role
in Europe for the United States.”51
Since the Eastern Europe itself is in the proximity of regions such as Asia and the
Middle East that could endanger the safety and security of the Europe the cooperation
between Eastern European states and NATO is essential for a safer future.
At the beginning of the millennium, Peter Duignan was sure that the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization will have to deal with all kind of threats and that the leadership of the
Organization will pass from the United States in Europe’s field. This was an important vision
with more than one year before the 9/11 events and before Romania, Bulgaria, Austria and
Slovakia joined this complex politico-military security system called NATO.
In the early 2000, for both European Union and the NATO, creation of a larger
security community was very important as ex-communist states such as Romania and the
Czech Republic were prepared to enter the NATO structures but in different waves. The case
of Romania played a more important role in the region in comparison with the others. Even
though Romania entered the structures in 2004, in the second wave, its involvement after
becoming a member was very important in terms of political and military cooperation.
Compared with first wave countries, Romania was more prepared to enter the NATO
structures. For example, the Czech Republic had some difficulties in terms of acceptance of
foreign military structures on its territory but also in the political level.
In Romania, the NATO membership announcement was very important and played an
important role in the credibility of the population and of the political leaders in the EuroAtlantic structures. The year 2004, marked the debut of ascension for Romanian foreign
policy and a first step towards European Union integration.
At that time, in the beginning of the millennium, Romania understood it could play an
important geostrategic role in the region, and can be a trusted partner for the West in relation
with neighbor countries such as Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Serbia and Bulgaria. The
GHECIU Alexandra, NATO in the New Europe – The Politics of International Socialization after the Cold
War, Stanford University Press, 2005, p. 120;
51
44
access to the Black Sea was of infinite importance, both economic and geostrategic, as it is
considered an important link to the Middle East.
It is important to understand that both sides here (and we have here NATO on one
side and Romania on the other) had to understand the problems of the past in order to have
some solution for a brighter future, together. Mentioning that NATO has only positive things
to gain from Romania’s integration and that it will help the country get rid of the Communist
Era burden and offer extra aid in the country’s quest to join the European Union. The fact
that Romania joined NATO in the second wave, when there was an accent on the liberal and
democratic principles that the Organization promoted, was of a greater importance than the
acceptance of the first wave countries. This helped Romania to evaluate and then coordinate
with those principles, which are principles shared by the NATO with the European Union
and its partners for cooperation.
The 2004 NATO integration of Romania marked an important acquisition for the
Organization also in terms of cooperation with Middle East countries. Romania was still seen
as a safe ground for many countries in the Middle East even after the collapse of the
Communist Regime. Before 1989 Romania’s good relations with Middle Eastern countries
and those from the gulf was based on Ceausescu’s relations, as Romania was for many years
the most important producer of oil extraction and refining equipment in the world. Its market
was based in the Middle East, and the relations formed then are in some way still valid today.
Speaking of the 2004 integration, we do not have to think that this was directly linked
to the terrorist attacks on the US soil. We can consider that the progress made by Romania,
since the discussions about NATO accession debuted, should have been sufficient for a
strong commitment to the Euro-Atlantic structure.
“NATO’s participation in the two main campaigns linked to the attacks
of September 11, 2001, Afghanistan and Iraq, evolved gradually to involve
the use of the Alliance’s infrastructure for surveillance and protection of the
continental United States, the generation of forces for multinational
formations in Afghanistan and Iraq, command support for NATO
multinational peacekeeping forces, and operational burden-sharing allowing
45
the United States to withdraw some troops from one theater (the Balkans)
and transfer them to another.”52
The commitment of Romania, and the good cooperation and coordination of Romania
after its integration, showed that the country was full prepared for such role in the region and
that the events of the September 11, 2001 were not the key elements in Romania’s integration
in the Alliance.
One of the first things that Romania did in order to set the things strait for a NATO
membership was to sign safety and security bilateral and trilateral treaties with neighbors and
regional partners. Beside the main purpose for these treaties they come also to support the
integration process and to ensure the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that there are no
safety and security issues between the candidate countries and other candidate or even other
countries from the region. One of the best examples of such a bilateral treaty that proved
necessary for the integration process is the one between Romania and Hungary. Hungary is
one of the three countries from the first wave of integration alongside Poland and the Czech
Republic. Hungary is also neighbor country of Romania and since they have few issues over
a territory in Romania, the region of Transylvania. These issued had to be solved in order for
both Romania and Hungary to further discuss the integration problem. So this bilateral treaty
came in handy for both countries since they started the negation process at about the same
time, only the Romania’s difficulties with the economic and political reform have moved the
country from the first wave to the second one.
Same bilateral and trilateral treaties were signed between Romania and countries such
as Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Republic of Moldova neighbors and then we have Greece,
Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia and Poland as part of a process to ensure the
safety of the region that lasted more then half a decade.
In terms of the military reform that will help the country integrate with all the
institutions into the NATO structure, Romania has quickly shifted to professionalize the
army in order to synchronize although there were many things to do in order to bring
Romania to the level of member in term of the army. This fact is mentioned by in Zoltan
BARANY’s work: “[… The army’s reform is the result of years of study and deliberation –
RYNNING Sten, NATO Renewed – The Power and Purpose of Transatlantic Cooperation, Palgrave
Macmillan, New York, 2005, p. 122;
52
46
three different draft programs had been prepared – and have been revised and updated with
the help of American and other NATO personnel. The program the Ministry of Defense is
pursuing is divided into two phases, primarily owing to the anticipated budgetary situation.
Thus, in the first phase, 2000 to 2003, the goal is to restructure all echelons of the armed
forces by creating corps, brigades and battalions (and gradually eliminating army and
regiments). The specific goal by 2003 is to have three active duty army corps (plus one
reserve corps) and totally abolish the army-division-regiment structure. Since 1989, the
manpower of the armed forces has been reduced from 250.000 to 120.000; the final objective
is to cut the army to 75.000 military personnel and 15.000 civilians in 2007-2010. According
to the reform, civilians will take over many of the jobs currently owned by uniformed
personnel.]”53
So the military reform was one of the most important parts of Romania’s integration
into the complex mechanism of the North Atlantic Alliance. This has been possible during
the previous decade with the support of the American Government who among other member
countries of the organization has sent specialists in order to evaluate and update the
Romanian armed forces in order to reach a high level of efficiency and professionalism.
After reading this chapter we should be able to see how the process of Romania’s
political, economic and military reform has raised the interest of NATO in the country.
We should see that by the ambition to become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance,
Romania helped itself in the reform process. The involvement of the organization is also
important especially since the integration process started. From the NATO perspective,
as a benefit, Romania was on the way to become a member and started its contribution
to the security cooperation process of the region. Also, in a more technical aspect,
Romania managed to continue the reform of the Armed Forces with the help of Alliance
specialists.
Romania found itself in a position to prepare for integration more than once.
First, the country prepared for the 1999 first wave of NATO enlargement in Central
and Eastern Europe in a more technical manner. Romania did not become a member of
the North Atlantic Alliance in 1999’s first wave of enlargement because of the late
53
BARANY Zoltan, The Future of NATO Expansion - Four Case Studies, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, 2003, p. 162.
47
acceleration of the political and economic reforms. The countries that managed to enter
in the first wave were the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary.
Relating this part of the subject with the “balance of threat” theory and the
“balancing behavior” propose the Stephen Walt, we should say that Romania, after
letting Europe and United States know its intention have began a reform process and
continue promoting the idea of NATO membership in terms of foreign relation. France
was one of the most important supporters of the idea that Romania should join the
Alliance.
The next chapter is focused on the cooperation between the two sides the benefits
that NATO had before and after Romania’s integration and what Romania gained after
1994 since the Partnership for Peace was signed.. This will focus more on the politicomilitary aspects of security as those became extremely important after 9/11.
3. Utility for NATO and utility of NATO
In this chapter I will focus on the politico-military aspect of security, and what are the
gains and possible loses from both parts from the moment of Romania’s accession in the
NATO structures.
One of the most important things to mention regarding the NATO-Romania
relationship is that it started as a NATO Partnership for Peace and with the support of the
United States in a bilateral relation and then evolved into Romania becoming an ally of
NATO.
We have previously discussed the changes that NATO brought to Romania’s elites,
future elites and in terms of people conception about integration in Euro-Atlantic structures.
48
Now we have to focus on some of the programmes initiated by NATO in Romania, since the
integration.
It should be mentioned that the second NATO enlargement was as problematic as the
first because of Romania and Bulgaria lack of economic and political performance. An
argument for this situation is that the integration of these two countries in the EU structures
was delayed due to these problems. Romania and Bulgaria’s integration in the EU was
delayed with three years, until they have reached a certain level of economic and political
performance, adequate to the EU numbers.
We should mention that even with this situation Romania’s accession in the NATO
structures was very important at that time for the Alliance. Romania is considered to be one of
the most important countries in terms of geo-strategy. It has the resources and the capacity to
become a strong regional actor. It is a bridge to the Middle East, and its relative close distance
towards Russia and the Caucasus is also relevant for the Allies.
Romania was seen at that time as one of the possible most important promoters of
regional stability and democracy after its integration in the structures of Euro-Atlantic
cooperation. The difference was made by Romania, after the integration when the reform
process continued and a constant evolutional path was established. More than that, Romania,
in comparison with other new members, had the eagerness to raise military expenditures
beyond the 2% of GDP recommended by the organization. Also, not too much criticism was
coming from Romania towards NATO, after the enlargement.
After the September 11 events, the NATO policy regarding combating terrorism and
the other possible threats has integrated Romania into systems of military intervention.
Starting with Iraq and the Afghanistan, Romania was and still is one of the most important
countries on the military filed operations with a large number of soldiers deployed on
different missions of peacekeeping and stabilization.
For Romania it was very important to enhance bilateral military relation with all
NATO and EU member states alongside multilateral relations. Since 1994, when Romania
signed the Framework Document regarding the Partnership for Peace, for almost a decade
both sides have cooperate well and set an example for other to follow.
49
The document mentioned above, alongside the Individual Partnership Program (IPP),
the Partnership Work Program (PWP), and the Partnership Planning and Review Process
(PARP) were launched after the Brussels Summit in 1994.54 These programs have helped
Romania to in the preparation process for integration as a full member of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization.
[In terms of objectives, Romania set at that time the following: A.
Development and enhancement of military relations with NATO and EU
member states; B. Development of good neighborly military relations; C.
Increased cooperation with other Partnership for Peace (PfP) member states;
D. Developing and maintaining the military cooperative efforts with those
Nations outside our own geographical area who represent partners for
Romania and its Armed Forces; E. Fulfillment of Romania’s military
obligations and commitments incurred as a result of signed international
agreements, conventions and treaties; F. Increased participation in worldwide Peace Support Operations and enhanced contribution to the
international community’s fight against new security challenges, terrorism
included.]55
The objectives mentioned above were of major importance in order to fully integrate
in military terms. Romania’s military history is one of the most important in the region, and
the tradition of the service was relevant in terms popularity within Romanians. After passing
to the Professional Military Service, the numbers were not reduced as much as in other
countries that passed to the same level. Although conditions were far from the best and the
remuneration system for such a commitment was poor, many people choose to join the
military.
Although not a full member of the Alliance, Romania has proven to be a strong partner
in relation with other partners and neighbors. Since 1991, Romania participated actively in
more than a dozen of missions including: 1991 – Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia; 1996 – IFOR
in Bosnia-Herzegovina; 1996-2001 – SFOR in Bosnia-Herzegovina; 2001- present KFOR in
54
55
Romania on its way to NATO – factsheets, Ministry of Public Information, Bucharest, 2000, p. 58;
Idem, p.59;
50
Kosovo; ISAF – 2002- present in Afghanistan.56 So this proves that although Romania was
not fully prepared to enter the Alliance’s structures from economic and political point of view,
the military interoperability capacity of Romania was extremely high. Nevertheless the fact
that Romania did not accessed NATO until 2004, in the second wave, has given the country’s
elite more time to continue the reform process and to do well in both economic and political
standpoints. The close military cooperation and the availability of Romania in terms of
military intervention for the United Nation, the Organization for Security Cooperation in
Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or as partner of the United States of America
in Iraq or Afghanistan has proven to be an advantage for Romania in terms of international
cooperation and the support received from these organizations on the country’s way to EuroAtlantic integration was very helpful.
Regarding Romania’s participation to military missions with NATO we have to
mention the engagement in Afghanistan which is considered to be one of the most important
steps taken towards the integration in the Alliance. In 2001, after the September 11 terrorist
attacks in the United States of America, Romania was one of the first countries to react in
implementing the terms of the United Nation Security Council Resolution 1333 from 2000
which meant banning the military and security cooperation with the Taliban government and
implementing the financial isolation and travel interdictions for the Taliban officials.57 Only
eight days after the terrorist attacks the Romania Parliament decided the following:
[Romania, as a strategic partner of the United States of America and
member of Partnership for Peace, will participate, as a de facto ally, together
with the NATO member states and theirs other partners and allies in the
effort to combat international terrorism, by all means necessary, including
military means.]58
Romania on its way to NATO – factsheets, Ministry of Public Information, Bucharest, 2000, p.200;
Monitorul Oficial al României (The Official Gazette of Romania), 2001a. “Hotărâre 918 din 13 Septembrie
2001 pentru aplicarea rezoluţiei nr. 1333/2000 a Consiliului de Securitate a Organizaţiei Naţiunilor Unite privind
situatia din Afganistan, No. 602/25, September, Bucharest, MOR Press;
58
Monitorul Oficial al României (The Official Gazette of Romania), 2001b, “Hotărâre 21 din 19 Septembrie
privind participarea României împreună cu statele membre ale NATO, la acţiunile de combatere a terorismului
international , No 589/20, September, Bucharest, MOR Press;
56
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In the following months of the terrorist attacks on the territory of the United States,
Romania took some important decisions regarding the US and NATO intervention to
Afghanistan. Romania gave access to its territory for the transit of the alliance forces and
reassured its participation to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
Moreover, Romanian leaders agreed on the participation on the Enduring Freedom Operation
after serous debate in the Parliament. Even if questions were raised during the session in the
Parliament the decision was to fully support the actions of the United States and NATO
forces. One example of such missions is the Operation Carpathian Thunder “in March 2003,
Romanian troops searched out and destroyed a complex of caves in the Red Mountains, up to
an altitude of 2,700 meters, identified by Predator reconnaissance. A few days later, acting in
a support capacity in the US-led Operation Valiant Strike, the Romanians participated in the
arrest of 16 terrorist suspects and the discovery and destruction of important caches of
ammunition, including 107-mm rockets. On 5 October 2005, a Romanian–American team
accompanied by 261 Afghan troops seized 3.3 tonnes of marijuana, tens of grenades, 15,000
bullets and other heavy armament in Paktia, 100 kilometers South of Kabul.”59
These missions did not only prove the military effectiveness and synchronization but
also the capability and responsiveness at political level. Not to forget that the majority of the
population have and still support Romania’s full Euro-Atlantic integration as shown not only
by the multiple referendums organized but also by the continuous support over the years. In
some aspects Romania has previously experienced the membership of the North Atlantic
Alliance proven by the participation in the numerous campaigns and missions. During the
years this was a strengthening factor for the United States – Romania relation which was one
of the reassuring factors for the Eastern-European country integration in NATO.
Another important fact regarding Romania’s integration into the Alliance’ structures
were the September 11 events and the United States launch of the “War on Terror”. The
United States was and still is one of Romania’s most important ally and promoter in the
World. This means that, the strong relation developed during the 90s (the relation between the
two countries was in good terms even when Romania was under the dictatorship of Nicolae
POP Liliana, Romania – The high and low politics of commercialization in LEANDER Anna ed.,
Commercializing Security in Europe – Political Consequences for Peace Operations, New Security Studies,
PRIO, Routledge, London and New York, 2013, p. 130;
59
52
Ceausescu) was of a greater important for the United States in comparison with other
countries in the region. After Romania became a full member of NATO, making proof of
continuous development and reform process, has given the United States the chance to fully
support the EU integration of Romania.
Regarding Romania’s leadership in the time when the country was thinking about
NATO accession, many politicians frequently stated how much NATO needs Romania, but
we should see the other way round and think how much Romania needed NATO. The former
Chief of the General Staff (CGS) Constantin Degeratu said that: “Romania is the only
country in Europe between the two great regions of instability and uncertainty, the former
Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union. For the sake of ourselves and Europe, we require
stability. No other country in Europe needs NATO as much as we do.”60
During previous research on the same subject and during bachelor I have requested
some professors and specialists opinion regarding the benefits of the both sides, Romania and
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. I have to say that the majority inclined towards a
balance between Romania’s need of stabilization and NATO’s geo-strategic plans. The EuroAtlantic structures needed a strong partner in the East of Europe, where most of Romania’s
neighbors have represented uncertainty.
In terms of Romanian leadership support towards NATO accession, we must say that
the political elite fully supported the integration and the efforts were realistic in terms of both
propaganda and policy towards integration.
It is very important to mention that Romania advocated many times during the 90s that
it is ready to join NATO from the military perspective, but the requests were rejected every
time. The progress made by Romania from political and economic perspective was in some
ways a response to the previous rejections. In the last part of the accelerated process of NATO
integration, Romania also had to deal with the EU aspiration. A comparison between NATO
and EU process of integration does not show many relevant things so we would not spend to
much time with the parallel. One of the relevant things to mention is that Romania’s process
60
BARANY Zoltan, The Future of NATO Expansion - Four Case Studies, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, 2003, p. 145;
53
of integration in NATO was more successful than the EU integration, although the complexity
differs and EU had many more conditions set.61
After the events on September 11, 2001, the NATO objectives changed and the
implication of the United States in setting the direction for the Euro-Atlantic structure was
obvious. This thing has also influenced the involvement of the United States in Romania road
to NATO. Waves of support and demands at the same time were publicly made by the United
States in Romania. The relationship between the two countries was getting stronger and
stronger. One of the most important people from Romania’s leadership in terms of
establishing a stronger relation with the United Stated was Mircea Geoana (former Romanian
Ambassador in the United States of America and at the time of integration process, Romania’s
Foreign Minister and President of the OSCE) who declared that “Romania intended to
become a vehicle of Euro-Atlantic values to the other countries in the region and the
locomotive of NATO expansion.”
Given Romania’s efforts and the long time of preparation for the integration we should
not consider the September 11 event as the turning point in Romania’s road to the EuroAtlantic family. We shall consider that Romania would have been a NATO member in 2004
without the “push” from the “War on Terror”. When President Bush, announced the starting
of the “War on Terror” the whole security strategy of the United States have changed.
Romania’s role was important even before the starting of the fight against worldwide
terrorism, but after the 2001 everything had to be revised. Romania started playing two major
roles in both NATO’s strategy and the US strategy. But given that after 2001, the United
States have “taken control” of the Organization we can speak about one strategy, motivated
by the fight against terrorism.
Romania has proven a close ally of the United States and of the North Atlantic
Alliance even before a full member. Sending troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Romania wanted
to show the world that is prepared to play an important role in the region, no matter the
strategy and other priorities. We should see that Romania is an important ally of the West that
is close to the Russian Federation and the Middle East. The fact that Romania has the biggest
harbor at the Black Sea is also important from the geo-strategic point of view.
GALLAGHER Tom, Deceniul Pierdut al Romaniei – Mirajul integrarii Europene dupa anul 2000, trad.
Simona Ceauşu, Editura All, Bucureşti, 2010, p. 145;
61
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Obvious progress was made by Romania since the negotiation with NATO began in
the mid 90s. Certain progress was made in the economic and political levels but the most
significant changes in a positive matter were made in the military field. Although far enough
from the most advanced defense systems in Europe, the Romanian Ministry of Defense has
been modernized and lots of professionals in the field, remained in the system.
Romania had also changed in terms of dealing and synchronizing with the policy and
politics of NATO. Specialists from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have promoted the
modus-operandi of the organization and they have proven to the Romanian leaders that the
vision of NATO and its policy is Western-like and in full agreement with their commitments
to the Romanian people.
The fact that Romania was included in a programme focused on training future leaders
was beneficial especially for the coming generations. This training was made under the close
supervision of NATO advisers and specialists. Those who have helped with the reform
process were in a position of changing their understanding about the international reality and
national identity and have acquired a new set of liberal democratic norms of appropriate
action. We have seen changes in the relations with the outside world, how the elites
represented their country in the context of international relations, diplomacy and military
interoperability. This process has come to change the old, communist perspective of how
things should work in this environment. As the foreign were coming at that time and change
views and perspectives about the capitalist economy, the process of training the future elites
in the areas such as politico-military foreign relations, defense and administration were
coming to change the perspective of this category of people.
“We have witnessed the
delegitimization of the communist alternative views of Romanian interest by portraying them
as inherently irrational and inconsistent with the identity of a modern, democratic polity.”62
In terms of important decisions that influenced the future of Romania in the EuroAtlantic context, we have to mention the prompt reaction for the engagement in Afghanistan.
Romania has proven with the participation at the Enduring Freedom Operation at that time the
GHECIU Alexandra, NATO in the New Europe – The Politics of International Socialization after the Cold
War, Stanford University Press, 2005, p. 195;
62
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“de facto membership even before the invitation to join had been extended.[…] In addition to
the military involvement, Romania developed bilateral diplomatic ties with Afghanistan an
extended a certain amount of aid. Romania was also essential in providing essential
diplomatic support for United Nations and the North Atlantic Alliance positions.”63
So Romania was in a constant progress before and after the membership of NATO, but
the biggest difference between when the country was not a member and the period after 2004
is that it could develop more and more its role in the region. In addition, after becoming a
member, Romania also promoted NATO and its values in a region that is closer to the Middle
East and Asia. The fact that Romania’s leader have managed to continuously support United
Stated, its partners and NATO in every position they have taken was a demonstration of the
willingness and availability for the country to become a member.
How the Presidency, Government and the Parliament reacted and synchronized their
movements regarding NATO and every other thing related to the strong partners have been
working the in the advantage of Romania and how the country developed in every aspect
during the coming years.
This chapter briefly analyzes some aspects of the cooperation between NATO and
Romania before and after the integration process was finalized and Romania was
invited to join the Alliance in Prague NATO Summit in 2002. One of the most important
aspects of the cooperation is represented by the participation of Romania’s Armed
Forces to the some of NATO’s most important military campaigns. The fast reaction of
Romania to the terrorist attacks from 9/11 2001 on the United States territory and the
participation to the Operation Enduring Freedom and ISAF in Afghanistan made a
clear statement on Romania’s intentions regarding NATO and the strategic partnership
with the United States.
The development of the Romanian Armed Forces has come as a measure to
balance the influence of Russian Federation in the region, especially when Romania has
POP Liliana, Romania – The high and low politics of commercialization in LEANDER Anna ed.,
Commercializing Security in Europe – Political Consequences for Peace Operations, New Security Studies,
PRIO, Routledge, London and New York, 2013, p. 128;
63
56
boarders with Ukraine and Republic of Moldova, two former members of the Soviet
Union and the 14th Army of the Soviet Union is still deployed in Transnistria. Threat
posed by the Russian Federation was still there and Romania wanted to express its
intentions to be closer the Occident. Once again, the balance of threat theory comes to
explain Romania’s behavior, and the cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance and
especially the strategic partnership with the United States. Of course that the “balance
of threat” theory is not helpful in explaining all the parts of the relation between the two
sides, NATO and Romania, and why they needed each other, but there is no doubt for
the main parts and why we have relate this theory with the subject.
In addition to the threat posed by the influence of the Russian Federation in the
region, since the September 11 2001 events, we have new threats coming from the
Middle East and Central Asia. Romania has helped the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization in the fight against terrorism and in balancing the threat represented by
terrorism.
This part, in which we analyze how Romania received Military and Economic
Aid from NATO and the United States, can be related to Stephen Walt’s arguments
regarding foreign aid and alliance formation. ”According to this set of arguments, the
provision of economic or military assistance can create effective allies, because it
communicates favorable intentions, because it evokes a sense of gratitude,[…]” 64 We
cannot say that this is the main explanation to Romania’s international behavior and to
its will to become a member of NATO, but it can be an explanation of a part of the
whole relation between the two sides.
Romania benefited from NATO’s involvement in the general development of the
country. One of the most important aspects is the training and teaching offered by
NATO to the Romanian future elites.
64
WALT Stephen, The Origins of Alliances, Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 1987, p.46;
57
4. Romania as an important player and strong ally of the West in the
region
This chapter is focused on the international role of Romania, after becoming a member
of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. We will focus on the Romanian Foreign Policy and
also on the domestic evolution, how the country prepared for the European Union integration
after becoming a member of the North-Atlantic structures. Given the important geo-strategic
position of Romania, it is important to follow all of the developments on the military strategy
in the region of Eastern-Central Europe and the Black sea.
Romania has been on an ascending path since its membership of NATO came true.
This was a proof of the Romanian people and leadership commitment to the liberal
democratic values of the Euro-Atlantic structures. Since 2004, Romania continued its
struggles to reform. Starting with the economic and the politic level, the country that was
accepted as full member of the North Atlantic Alliance, was making short but certain steps
towards a the European Union integration. We can have a long discussion here, whether the
NATO membership have positively influenced the European integration process. It is true that
on the political level, the progress made by Romania in its quest for NATO membership, has
now its benefits on the country’s way to the European Union. But we shall also take into
account that the conditions for EU integration are far more complex than those regarding the
North Atlantic Alliance. A stable economy it’s a must for European integration, and the
country needs more than will, to be able to change something.
Before 2004, the Romanian leadership has began to support the full integration and the
majority of the population understood fast that the target for Romania is the Euro-Atlantic
structures, in order to help the country develop more and more.
Since NATO integration, Romania began to understand it’s role in the region, and
with the help of the United States has began to prove that the West have here a strong partner,
on which it can rely on.
So, by entering the NATO structures on 2nd of April 2004, Romania was returning to
its family of occidental stated, after it got separated at the end of the World War II. Romania,
58
by its Latin origins, was returning to the western democracies, after it was separated without
its will.
Since 2004, Romania is allied with all the occidental powers at once for the first time
in its modern history. Separately from the NATO structures, one relation was more special
than all of the others. Romania’s bilateral relation with the United States has made possible
the best security guarantee for the newly integrated country. As President Băsescu stated
during the Discourse celebrating a decade of Romania in the NATO structures, the good
bilateral relation with the United States made possible the anti-rocket shield from Deveselu
and the placement of and American Military Base on Romania’s territory. This relation made
possible the organization of the Bucharest NATO Summit and a certain level of integration of
the Romanian defense and security structures into the NATO scheme. 65
We will try to focus first on the stability of the region offered by Romania, as a
guarantee for the West and its allies. We are talking here about political, economic, social and
military stability between two regions of historical instability, the region of former
Yugoslavia and the ex-members of the USSR. Since its NATO membership, Romania has
also become a member of the European Union. Although Romania was considered more or
less prepared to join the EU from both political and economic point of views, the progress
made towards membership and after was a proof of the continue commitment of the country
to the Euro-Atlantic principles.
The economy has gained an impressive level of stability, thing that attracted the
foreign invertors in Romania. On the political level there are still some remainders of the
communist legacy to deal with. This is happening as I am writing, after the Justice reform
reached a close to completion level. The Justice mechanism are fully functional although
some steps back are made in the Parliament by voting some laws in disagreement with the
western-like principles of liberal democracy. Certain changes were made and are still
happening in Romania, changes that aim to continue Romania’s road to do better.
The foreign influence exercised in Romania by the West through structures such as the
EU, NATO and the OSCE have and are still helping the country maintain its path to
development.
Press Release – (1st of April 2014) – The Discourse of the Romanian President, Mr. Traian Băsescu, at the
solemn meeting of both Chambers of the Parliament dedicated to mark 10 years since Romania’s integration in
the North Atlantic Alliance and of 65 years of existence for NATO, available online at http://www.presidency.ro ;
65
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What Romania has to offer to the West is of certain importance especially by its
geostrategic position. First Romania has become a strong pillar of the economic and political
apparatus of the European Union. Given the recent problem in Greece, Romania offers a high
level of certainty in the European Union in terms of economy. From political perspective,
although with some internal differences, the leadership is fully committed to EU and NATO
structures.
One of the most important things to mention is the security level of cooperation, as
Romania is fully integrated and synchronized with the Euro-Atlantic defense apparatus. We
have seen Romania offering the military stability to the region, now being more important
then ever (with the recent events in Ukraine).
On its territory Romania offered to NATO a strategic placement of an anti-missile
defense system at Deveselu, in the Southern region of the country. This is a part of the
defense mechanism developed by the Euro-Atlantic Structures in order to block possible
attacks from the far-East of Europe of from the Middle East or Asia. This anti-missile system
represents a valid option to block the attack in the first phase, closest after launching.
Also regarding the Defense strategy, Romania hosts one of the major US Military
Bases in Europe, which include a military airport. The Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base is
positioned in the South-East of Romania and has a close connection with the largest city in
the region, Constanţa, which happens to be the largest harbor in the Black Sea. Its major role
since it was build was as a bridge for the American troops returning from Iraq and
Afghanistan.
The placement of these highly important NATO objectives over the territory of the
country is one of the arguments proving that Romania is the most important ally of the EuroAtlantic structures in the region. Alongside these objectives the continuous commitment of
the Romanian Army to NATO led mission is also a strong argument for Romania as a strong
ally. Romania participated in numerous NATO missions even before becoming a full member
of the structure.
It is obvious that Romania needed NATO to strengthen its role in the region, both
political and economic. Alongside the economic and political points of view, we have the
necessity of improvement and modernization in the military field. Once synchronized with the
structures of NATO, the leader wanted more, a continuous development of the military forces.
60
This process came in close supervision of the organization, and with the bilateral help of the
United States, as one of Romania’s close promoters worldwide.
In balance of those mentioned before, we should also state the problems encountered,
even if the country is a member of NATO and the EU, Romania is still struggling with
political and economic stability. The situation is getting better and better, and the current
problems should not worry in terms of lack of commitment to the Euro-Atlantic structures but
should raise awareness to the country’s leadership, that for a country with the ambitions and
potential of Romania, these things represents obstacles.
We have previously mentioned some of the important facts regarding the importance
of Romania in the region but we should gather all under the same roof given the benefits
could be treated as the same.
In the following lines I will try to analyze Romania’s contribution to NATO structures
and to the stability if the region. The first thing that came into my mind is Afghanistan. The
North Atlantic Treaty Organization is involved in Afghanistan for more than a decade and the
effort put in that direction is considerably larger than in any other case. Since 2001, when the
international community has began the process of transforming Afghanistan into a more
stable, safe and secure country, NATO has sent the first wave of troops alongside the UN and
it has been on the command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) since 2003.
Regarding the intervention in Afghanistan of the international community, Romania shared “a
significant part of the international effort” in Afghanistan from the very beginning. At that
time Romania was not even a member but the efforts and the whole contribution was
significant. As Romania’s Foreign Affairs Minister, H.E. Mr. Titus Corlăţean in 2012 “ From
the very beginning, when Romania was still knocking at NATO’s door, we shared a
significant part of the international effort in Afghanistan and paid a heavy blood tribute. We
committed troops to the first UN Mission launched in 2001 and we became operational
partners when NATO too on the ISAF command in 2003; and since 2004 when Romania
61
became a NATO member we are among those Allies who regularly deployed troops in this
theatre of operations.”66
Alongside Afghanistan, Romania is involved into the Missile Defense project. Due to
its geo-strategic positioning and given that it’s a stable and trusted partner in this region,
Romania has the change to prove one again why is so important for the Euro-Atlantic
structures.
The second most important project of NATO and the United States in Romania is the
Missile Defense Programme. This programme represents another link in the transatlantic link
and also “NATO capability to adapt to current challenges and to protect not only its members
but also its partners.”67 In September 2009 United States President Barack Obama announced
the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) for missile defense. This announcement has
been made on the recommendation of the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff. This European Phased Adaptive Approach will be implemented over this
decade and it has four phases. • Phase One (2011 timeframe) – focusing short- and mediumrange ballistic missile threats by deploying missile defense systems. • Phase Two (2015
timeframe) will expand the coverage against short- and medium-ranged missiles threats with
the fielding of a land-based SM-3 missile defense interceptor site in Romania; • Phase Three
(2018 timeframe) will improve coverage with another land-based SM-3 in Poland; • Phase
Four (2020 timeframe) enhance the ability to counter medium and intermediate-range missile
and potential inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) threats to US from the Middle East.68
Currently the plans to implement the programme in Romania are on schedule and the
Deveselu Base is operational as for 2013. With the implementation of the programme
Romania proves once again that the link with the United States is strong and that is an
important ally in the region to the NATO and the EU.
The important role of Romania in the region is stated also by the “long term
commitment to decisively contribute to promoting cooperation, stability and prosperity to its
neighboring zones – the Western Balkans and the wider Black Sea region – as well as to the
entire Euro-Atlantic.” It is also stated by the Romanian officials that belonging to the EuroRomania’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mr. Titus Corlăţean during his speech on 11/09/2012 at the International
Conference on “NATO and the Global Structure of Security: The Future of Partnerships” available online at:
http://www.mae.ro/en/node/16603 ;
67
Romania is one if the few countries participating to the Missile Defense Programme. Romanian leadership
has strongly supported the programme since the country’s integration in the North Atlantic structures.
68
Implementing Missile Defense in Europe – The European Phased Adaptive Approach available online at:
http://romania.usembassy.gov/policy/missile_defense.html ;
66
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Atlantic community facilitate the democratic transformations, consolidates the rule of law and
leads towards social and economic progress.69
Romania’s territory is of extreme importance, for its own development and for
NATO’s future plans to a complex defense system. The Carpathian Mountains and other
natural elements will help in positioning of strategic point into NATO defense system. One
of the most important Military Bases strategically placed in the interior of the Carpathian
Câmpia Turzii Air Base “Potaissa” , in a town located in the renowned region of
Transylvania. (see Annex 1). This is one of the first examples of the cooperation with NATO.
More recent examples of the involvement of the Alliance in Romania are the “Mihail
Kogalniceanu” Air Base located in the South East of the country HARTA, near Constanta the
oldest and one of the biggest cities in Romania and an important seaport on the Black Sea.
The latest NATO investment in Romania is the Missile Defense System from Deveselu, a
locality from the South of Romania. (see Annex 1)
The three locations are a proof of Romania’s importance for the Alliance, and that the
military capabilities of the country are developing in order to balance the possible threats
coming from the Middle East and Central Asia. (see Annex 2)
This year, Romania marks a decade of North Atlantic Treaty Organization
membership and 65 years of existence for the Euro-Atlantic structure. With this occasion, the
Romanian President, Mr. Traian Basescu had a discourse in front of the Parliament in which
he concludes: “the NATO and further EU accession represented historical decisions of the
Romanian state, expressions of the will of the Romanian people. Thus, we obtained the best
allies and the best conditions for development of out country. Our North Atlantic Alliance
accession has a historical value. For the first time in its modern history Romania is allied with
all the western powers at the same time. The following development of the relation with the
United States inside NATO, a major objective in my foreign affairs agenda, has improved the
international status of Romania, and I can say, without any restraint, that in this moment
Romania is enjoying the best security guarantees from the modern history of the
country…The relationship with the United States has made possible the Missile Defense Base
Romania’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mr. Titus Corlăţean during his speech on 11/09/2012 at the International
Conference on “NATO and the Global Structure of Security: The Future of Partnerships” available online at:
http://www.mae.ro/en/node/16603 ;
69
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at Deveselu and the placement of other operational American military bases on the territory of
Romania. The relationship with the United States made possible also the organization of the
Bucharest NATO Summit and a synchronization of the Romanian security and military forces
with the NATO structures. We are here to give tribute to the true heroes of Romania, the
Romanian soldiers, fallen under the flag, during missions executed by the Romanian Army in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan and in partnership with the United States in
Iraq. They served the country with honor, devotion and courage…We have to tell the
Romanian people that the NATO accession brought numerous economic benefits to our
country. Since 2002 the year when Romania was invited to be a member of NATO, we have
assisted to an acceleration of the economic development of the country, including an
increased number of direct foreign investments. The placement of Romania under the NATO
influence represented an intensification of the development in Romania.”70
This discourse is important also in the context of the current situation in Ukraine and
the Russian Federation annexation of Crimeea. Romania is neighbor country of Ukraine, has
access to the Black Sea and is one of the closest partners of the United States. Additionally
Romania is situated between two zone marked by uncertainty, the former Yugoslavia region
and the former USSR region. Also Romania is involved in the process of development of
Republic of Moldova and the situation of Transnistria is of serious concern given the presence
of the Russian Army in the territory.
One of the reasons for choosing this subject is the current crisis in Ukraine and the
Crimeea situation. In these circumstances, Romania will play a more important role in the
region and given the geographical positioning the alternatives for a possible Russian Gas
crisis will have its alternative in a southern pipeline. We can also have the Nabucco Pipeline
project brought back to the attention of the European Union and its partners which will have
Romania put again on the map for an important fuel project.
In this direction, one of the most important aspects regarding the NATO membership
of Romania is that of representing a first step towards full integration in the Euro-Atlantic
Community. The European Union accession came after numerous efforts made by the
Press Release – (1st of April 2014) – The Discourse of the Romanian President, Mr. Traian Băsescu, at the
solemn meeting of both Chambers of the Parliament dedicated to mark 10 years since Romania’s integration in
the North Atlantic Alliance and of 65 years of existence for NATO, available online at http://www.presidency.ro ;
70
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leadership and the Romanian people but we should mention that an important progress at
political and economic levels came after NATO accession.
But before speaking about the full Euro-Atlantic integration we will see how
Romania’s importance in terms of Black Sea
This chapter analyzes the ascension of Romania after becoming a member of the
North Atlantic Alliance. Romania has become an important regional player that
promotes the security cooperation in the region. Moreover Romania benefited from the
NATO membership in terms of foreign investments, but the Alliance can now rely on an
important member that actively contributes to the security cooperation in Europe.
Moreover the geostrategic positioning of Romania could be seen as one of the most
important benefits for NATO and the United States. Romania’s proximity to the Middle
East and Central Asia offers numerous gains for the North Atlantic Alliance.
Relating this part with the “balance of threat” theory, Romania has and still has
a major role in the security cooperation in the region. Through its contribution to the
security of the region Romania have helped in the overall balancing of the threat posed
by the Russian Federation. Outside the region, as mentioned before, Romania has
helped in balancing the threat posed by the Middle East and Central Asia.
5. Romania and the Alliance’ interest in the Black Sea region
As we have mentioned in the previous chapter Romania is important for the
cooperation and security cooperation in the Black Sea region. Alongside Bulgaria, Romania is
the European Union’s border to the Black Sea and adding Turkey, another regional player we
have what NATO represents in this region. (see Annex 3) The three countries have been
constantly cooperating, not only in an Organization environment but also with bilateral and
65
trilateral treaties that are signed in order to strengthen the cooperation in the region. By
cooperation in the Black Sea we do not mean just politico-military cooperation for the
security and safety of the region but we also mean economic and environmental partnerships
that have the role to develop the entire region and to protect the Black Sea from pollution and
other dangerous factors.
The interest of the North Atlantic Alliance in the Black Sea and Romania’s access to it
is not something new, and we can also say that the interest of the United States of America is
not new either. The fact that the sea is considered Europe’s gate to the Caucasus and the
Middle East is important from the economic perspective and for the economic cooperation
between Asia, the Middle East and European Union and the European Countries. It is clear
that one of the most important reasons for the interest in the Black Sea is the economic
dimension but for NATO, the politico-military dimension comes first. We have here a region
where nine countries have access to the international waters of the sea starting with Romania,
Bulgaria, Turkey, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova and the eastern side with Russian
Federation, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. For NATO the most beneficial thing is that the
Black Sea is close to the potential threats, represented by the Middle East and in the current
international display, the Russian Federation.
As we have mentioned before, the current situation in Ukraine and the fact that the
Crimean Peninsula was attached to the Russian Federation have raised more interest for the
European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as well as Romania’s importance
in the Black Sea region.
In the last decade, a series of NGO and official Organization have been created in
order to promote cooperation in the Black Sea region. Also the governments of the countries
from the region alongside the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union have started
negotiations over the influence that is exercised in this particular region. It is know that the
Black Sea is divided in two major influence sides, the one of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey
on one side and the Russian Federation and former Soviet Union states on the other side. So
for the security and balance in the region NATO has a major role here and it can be very well
represented by its member countries Romania, Turkey and Bulgaria.
We should not forget that NATO has not exercised its influence over the region for a
long period of time. The accession of Romania and Bulgaria in 2004 has balanced the
influence in the region, formerly dominated by the Russian Federation and the former Soviet
Union countries. In June 2004, the Istanbul NATO Summit was held and it was the very first
announcement of the influence swift in the region. Although the summit was held in Istanbul,
66
no strategy for the region was adopted. Instead, there were statements about the importance of
the region, representing a borderline, given its closeness to the possible threats coming from
on the Northern Africa – Middle East- Asia axis.71
Romania in the context of its access to the Black Sea also represents a bridge to the
future engagements of NATO or the United States in the Middle East and the Caucasus.
Since 2001 and the debut of the “War on terrorism” Romania’s accession into NATO
have become a priority, although the country was already engaged in the Iraq War and
Afghanistan. Romania has proven many times before becoming a member that it can be a
trusted partner, especially by engaging in the ISAF in Afghanistan.
In the very beginning of the NATO enlargement in the late 90s and 2004, the new
borders have not only given just advantages to the Alliance but it was a source of possible
problems by getting closer to regions characterized by security instability such as the Eastern
side of the Black Sea.
Romania, before becoming a member of the North Atlantic Alliance was one of its
most important partners and has been developing good relation with the United States and
began the process for European Union integration. In this context Romania has become one of
the most important actors in the Black Sea, not only in economic terms but also on the
security cooperation level.
Since 2004 when Romania became a member of the Alliance numerous military
development programmes have emerged and in the context of Iraq War and ISAF
Afghanistan, the North Atlantic Alliance needed a bridge for the air-transport of military
personnel and equipment. One of the most important operation bases of NATO from the
proximity of the Black Sea is the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air-Base, developed under the close
supervision of the United States Government and which has proven its utility to both
American and NATO Allied Forces.
Given that Romania alone can offer stability to the region of the Black Sea by
promoting the cooperation, not only in terms of security but also in terms of economic and
environments, NATO has gained an important actor in the region.
One other important aspect about the Black Sea for NATO, the European Union and
the United States is the opportunities to offer the wanted alternatives for the energy supplies.
Since the Middle East energy resources could not be long term reliable alternatives such as
71
PETERSEN Alexandros , The Black Sea Security: The NATO Imperative, Wilson Center, available online at
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/black-sea-security-the-nato-imperative ;
67
the resources from the Caspian Sea and Central Asia are becoming more and more important
for the Western countries and the United States. In this context the transport of these
resources should have a reliable plan and the most efficient way to Central Europe is trough
the Black Sea and entering the NATO and European Union boarder in Romania. This should
be an opportunity for Romania to once again use its geostrategic position to prove both EU
and NATO the importance as a regional actor. For the energy resources alternative to be
available the Black Sea should be a safe ground and its security should be provided by
countries such as Romania and Bulgaria as member of both European Union and the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization and Turkey as a strong partner of the United States of America
and NATO member.
So Romania’s military capabilities are impressive, proved by the fast responses in both
Iraq and Afghanistan as a part of the joint operations with the United States, its allies and
NATO. The intelligence part is also a strong point of Romania’s integration in the NorthAtlantic structures, a part which can contribute not only to the regional security but also to the
safety of the international community. Although not as developed as some of the leading
countries in the North Atlantic Alliance, the military capability of Romania is much more
important than other country in the region and especially more important than the one of it’s
neighbor Bulgaria.
To have a better comparison between Romania and its neighbors we will have to take
a look at the Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan where alongside NATO and allied
forces Romania actively participated in every aspect of the operation. “In its contribution to
Operation Enduring Freedom, Romania has proportionately exceeded the capabilities of some
original NATO member. Of all the European Countries that participated in this campaign,
Romania was the only one to deploy a battalion-strength force, approximately 500 troops,
with its own airlift. There are approximately 800 Romanian troops in Iraq and about 300 in
the Balkans.”72
One of the most important groups of cooperation in the Black Sea region is
BLACKSEAFOR, which is a regional initiative destined to strengthen the trust, friendship
and good understanding between the states with access to the Black Sea. It is also meant to
develop the cooperation and interoperability of the naval forces of the participating states. The
72
PETERSEN Alexandros , The Black Sea Security: The NATO Imperative, Wilson Center, available online at
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/black-sea-security-the-nato-imperative ;
68
participating states are Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Georgia and
Turkey which singed in 2001 in Istanbul the agreement for this group.
The group was participating in successful missions with their Naval Forces until 2013.
In the current year, no mission was started due to the recent event in Ukraine and the
attachment of the Crimean Peninsula to the Russian Federation. Less countries thane those six
who have signed the agreement could not participate to missions as part of the programme
because BLACKSEAFOR can be activated only for joint operations.
NATO has entered a new stage of involvement in Europe with the second wave of
enlargement. By adding members such as the Baltic States, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and
Romania, the Alliance has not only benefits but also new responsibilities with a larger
territory and getting closer to regions characterized by security instability. Nevertheless the
trust in the new members was at high levels and in the first decade of membership, none of
the countries have failed to respect and promote the values of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization.
In terms of benefits for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the fact that Romania
actively participated in every mission since 2001 when there was only a partnership for
security between the two sides, proves that the Eastern European country could be a important
promoter of the liberal democratic values shared by NATO. In addition, the access that
Romania has to the Black Sea offers and will continue to offer the North Atlantic Alliance
new opportunities for cooperation that can ensure the security of the region.
For Romania, the access to the Black Sea and actively participating to the security of
the region can lead to the development of the area of the South-East and can have influences
over the politics and the economics of the country.
In the context of the recent events in the Northern part of the Black Sea, in the
Crimean Peninsula, the fact that NATO has access to this region is a guarantee factor for the
security of the region. With members like Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania and controlling one
side of the Black Sea, NATO can easily access the region in order to enhance security and
stability to the region of the Black Sea. (see Annex 3)
In the last decade, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has mentioned the
importance of the Black Sea region beginning with Istanbul NATO Summit in 2004. In
69
Istanbul, it was for the first time when the importance of the region was included in the
Declaration of a NATO Summit. Since then, in every Summit of the North Atlantic Alliance,
the importance of the region was included in the official declarations. We have here examples
such as Riga (2006), Bucharest (2008), Strasbourg (2009), Lisbon (2010) and in Chicago
(2012) where the Alliance have reaffirmed the importance of the region by developing the
cooperation between the states from the Black Sea region. 73
A very good example of how we can relate the “balance of threat” theory to this
part of the subject is directly related to the Black Sea. By becoming a member of NATO,
Romania has help in the balancing of threat in the Black Sea region. Before Romania
and Bulgaria have become members of NATO, the Black Sea was “dominated” by the
Russian Federation and the formers members of the Soviet Union. After accession of the
two Eastern European countries in 2004, and with Turkey as already a member of the
North Atlantic Alliance, we have two sides of influence, equally shared. The one with
Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania as members of the Alliance and the others “controlled”
by the Russian Federation.
This chapter is dedicated to the access that Romania has to the Black Sea.
Through this opportunity, Romania has a major role in the region, contributing
constantly to the cooperation process between the countries with access to the Black Sea.
Given that the Black Sea is a very important commercial route, linking Europe to the
Middle East and Asia. The importance of the region is raised also by the major oil and
gas routes. These routes are linking Europe and the United States to the Caspian Sea,
the Gulf and Asia. The access of Romania to the Black Sea is important in the aspect o
security since we have on one side controlled by NATO and another by the Russian
Federation and former members of the Soviet Union.
The Black Sea – Romanian Permanent Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization available online at
http://nato.mae.ro/en/node/388 ;
73
70
6. NATO – a first step towards full Euro-Atlantic integration
In the mid 90s, the idea of Euro-Atlantic integration was born in Romania but even the
most optimistic part of the leadership and population knew that it will be a long road to
achieve the level of Euro-Atlantic membership. More than a decade after this idea was born
Romania was a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union in
a context where the country was prepared to enter these structures but had a lot to work to be
close to the elite. Romania became a member of NATO in 2004 and since then many things
had to change in order to become a member of the European Union.
One of the most interesting parts is that Romania entered the North Atlantic Alliance in
the second wave of former Eastern Bloc countries. The first wave was in 1999 and since then
NATO wanted to stress the importance of the promotion of democratic and liberal values in a
functional economy. After the experience of the first wave NATO stressed the importance
promoting democracy and the rule of law in a functional economy so they started requesting
different targets in those levels for countries that were scheduled to enter the Alliance in the
second wave.
Given that Romania entered NATO in 2004, these requests pushed the
leadership to do better in order and this was helpful in the context of a European Union
accession in 2007.
In 2004 when Romania was already a member of NATO, The European Council in
Brussels reconfirms Romania’s accession schedule in the intervals marked by the 2004-20052007 milestones and after the European Commission presented the annual report on Romania
for 2004, as well as the Strategy Document concerning the perspectives of the enlargement
process to assert the firm support of the European Commission for the close of accession
negotiations with Romania (and Bulgaria) by the end of 2004, in December the Brussels
European Council confirms the conclusion of accession negotiations with Romania and
reaffirms the accession timetable: April 2005 – Signing the Accession Treaty; 1st January
2007 – EU accession.
The fact that Romania was already a member of NATO did not influence the EU
accession although the preparation for the second wave of integration for the North Atlantic
Alliance have helped Romania to do better in terms of political and economic levels. These
71
facts helped Romania in meeting the objectives set by the European Union in order to close
the negotiation process and move to the next step.
At the end of the 90s Romania was seen as a frontrunner for the NATO membership but
a couple of years later, the country leaders were not sure about the accession in the EuroAtlantic Structure. “In May 2001 Foreign Minister Mircea Geoana admitted that while after
the 1997 Madrid Summit said that the decision of further NATO enlargement would be
primarily political but economic performance would also be taken into consideration.”74
NATO has set objectives for a future membership in terms economic performances and
they have helped Romania in preparing for a more demanding accession in the European
Union. The NATO – EU relation was strong and the integration into the Alliance was a good
sign for the European leader that Romania can enter in the final stage of becoming a member
of the Union.
It is know that since 2001 the leadership of NATO was more European, and since the
September 11 events the United States took the leadership of NATO in order to a better
implementation of the “War on Terror” programme. So the European leadership of NATO
stressed the economic performance of Romania and Bulgaria and in a context of a future EU
integration both countries were advantaged by this fact.
At the time Romania opened negotiation for the European Union integration the country
had already made some progress in the political and economic level due to the preparations
for the NATO accession.
Although Romania registered significant progress in all dimensions, there were still
many things to do to reach the economic and political stability in order to join the members of
the European Union.
This chapter is dedicated to the importance of NATO and the role that the accession in
the North Atlantic Alliance played in the future of Romania, especially in term of European
integration.
As we have seen above, for a certain period of time Romania was negotiating its entry in
both structures, having the chance to join NATO first. At the end of the 90s Romania’s status
in the quest of joining NATO has changed because of the Alliance first wave of Eastern
countries that entered the structures. For example, the Czech Republic case reflects a
74
BARANY Zoltan, The Future of NATO Expansion - Four Case Studies, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, 2003, p. 173;
72
systematic effort by NATO to build a particular type of state-identity in the former
Communist bloc of Europe.75 So we can understand that NATO’s efforts were also directed
into changing the perspective of the leadership and influence the new elite in order to create
democratic stability and possible economic performance.
The closest most trusted partner of the NATO is the EU so the work of the Alliance in
the cases of former Communist bloc of Europe was in the benefit of a future relation of the
European Union with countries such as Czech Republic, Romania, and Slovakia and so on.
At the time of NATO accession, Romania was a democracy, and a few steps forward
were taken when the power shifted from PSD (the Social-Democrats) to the Justice and Truth
alliance (DA) consisting in Traian Băsescu’s democrats (PD) and liberals (PNL). This
happened in 2004, maybe one of the most important years in terms of European integration
for Romania. The country’s accession in NATO alongside the shift of power, culminating
with the surprising loss of Adrian Năstase in the Presidential Elections in front of Traian
Băsescu, the current president of Romania, mark an historical year for Romanian and its
people.
European aspirations were enthusiastically acclaimed by the people and also by the
political leader, but many things were to be done, to help Romania mature its democracy
through constant progress.
NATO integration came as fresh air for the country economy, as new foreign direct
investments began to increase the performance of the economy. But in order to reach the
status of stable economy Romania needed more than foreign direct investments.
The main idea is that with the NATO integration, Romania was coming closer to
European Union integration, not only in terms of political and economic progress but also
socially. People began to change their view and attitude regarding the Euro-Atlantic bodies.
It is also important that we should not conclude that the NATO accession would have
not been enough to enter the European Union in terms of both economic and political
standards. The North Atlantic Alliance has other objectives than the EU and at that time, for
Romania, the situation was getting better and better in terms of European aspirations. We
should not forget about the critics regarding Romania integration in NATO and EU, with a
necessary constant progress in order to “firmly and irrevocably embed democracy in the
country. It is important to mention that for more than a decade, considerable progress has
been made but Romania had to prove that the change is more than in some instances cosmetic,
GHECIU Alexandra, NATO in the New Europe – The Politics of International Socialization after the Cold
War, Stanford University Press, 2005, p. 102;
75
73
and that political elites, civil servants, judges and other public-office holders have subscribed
to and internalizes established norms and principles of democratic behavior.”76
[The most obvious has been the prospect of and progress towards EU
membership; however, there has also been the desire on the part of
Romania for its citizens to be removed from the EU’s “blacklist” of
countries whose citizens require a visa to enter EU. Moreover, it
should no be assumed that the pressure for reform has come solely
from the EU. Romania’s quest for EU membership coincided with the
efforts to join NATO. Given its role in promoting European security, it
could be expected that accession to NATO would see presume being
brought to bear on Romania to address at least its capacity to secure its
external borders.]77
Romania made significant progress in the period beginning with 2004 and since 2006,
a period characterized by substantial economic growth due to the previous reforms and even
political stability accompanied by support of the political leader to the full Euro-Atlantic
cooperation. Actually, the support of the political leaders, after the shift of 2004 when the
Social Democrats (PSD) have hand over the power to the Democrat Liberals (PDL) in both
the Parliament and the presidential race. The change has proven to be benefic for Romania as
the partnership with the United States started to become more important. Also the change has
some benefits in terms of cooperation with the European Union in the integration process.
So the NATO accession of Romania was seen in Europe at least as the capacity of the
country to secure its borders, to cooperate with other members in order to stop human, drugs
and arms trafficking and defend in case o an external attack, now with the support of the
Alliance. The NATO accession has given the chance to Romania to prove its capacity of
cooperation within a Euro-Atlantic structure and synchronizing its military defense and
security structures with those of the Alliance. Because Romania entered NATO in the second
wave gave the chance to accelerate the progress in terms of democracy, rule of law and
PAPADIMITROU Dimitris and PHINNEMORE David, Romania and the European Union – From
Marginalization to Membership – Europe and the Nation State, Routledge, Abington, New York, 2008, p. 90;
77
PAPADIMITROU Dimitris and PHINNEMORE David, Romania and the European Union – From
Marginalization to Membership – Europe and the Nation State, Routledge, Abington, New York, 2008, p 131;
76
74
transparency. NATO stressed the problem of political stability and economic performance for
the second wave of former Communist bloc countries and set some objectives in those
directions too. The North Atlantic structure wanted something different from the integration
of the first wave, and by setting targets in both political and economic levels, has helped
Romania on its path to European integration.
This chapter comes to analyze the importance of the NATO membership for
Romania in preparing the country for a future European Union integration. It is also
important to mention that, by preparing for the EU membership, the Eastern European
Country have strengthened its role in the region and developed new and more complex
cooperation relations. So by the process of integration of Romania into the EU, NATO
was more than satisfied by the evolution of the country. This means that Romania can
promote better the values and ideas of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
75
V. Conclusion
Since I have begun working at the thesis in February, many things have changed
especially in the International Relations context. Most important is that in a period of over
three months we have witnessed how Ukraine was ravished by a revolution in Kiev and the
former president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from the country due to the
development of the events in the capital. After a short period in which the violent events have
been reduces, we have seen how the Crimean Peninsula has passed from belonging to Ukraine
under the flag of the Russian Federation. These events have been shocking for the entire
international community which condemned the actions undertake by Russian Federation. The
European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization had immediate reactions and
expressed their concerns about how the Crimean Peninsula was annexed as part of the
Russian Federation territory. Given that these incidents could endanger the security not only
in the region but on the entire European continent, an organization such as the North Atlantic
Alliance, with members in the proximity of Ukraine, has to be concerned about what could
happen and how to react to such a display of security instability.
In the context of the mentioned events the subject of the thesis has risen in actuality
and became more interesting.
We have tried to show through this project the importance of the relation between the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Romania, why the two needed each other and how
this relation contributes to the security of not only Europe but in a large part of the Northern
Hemisphere. First a partner of NATO in 1994 then a member ten years later, Romania has
proven its essential role in the security of the region since the very beginning. We have tried
to show why Romania needed the membership in NATO and why the Alliance needed
Romania, a new democracy at that time. The actual subject was related to the “balance of
threat” theory proposed by Stephen Walt. We have showed that Romania wanted to become
member of the North Atlantic Alliance to balance the threat represented by the Russian
Federation. Romania did not wanted to fall under the same “curtain” of influence as after the
World War II and have chosen the “historical return” to the Western Europe as the in the 19 th
Century and in the first half of the 20th Century. The foreign aid received by Romania from
76
the United States of America and later by the North Atlantic Alliance was also a proof that
NATO wanted to balance the influence of the Russian Federation in the Eastern Europe and
that Romania wanted to
Considering that the last two decades were marked by events such as the Yugoslavian
War, the 9/11 2001 terrorists attacks on United States of America territory, and the Iraq War
and the invasion of Afghanistan both as part of the Global War on Terrorism the security
cooperation has become more important than ever.
We have to say that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization needed Romania because
the country represented a good opportunity for a later enlargement process, knowing that
historically, Romania was attached to the Western Europe, especially in the 19 th and the
beginning of the 20th century. Romania’s geostrategic position was another reason why
NATO needed Romania including the access of the country to the Black Sea.
After the Partnership for Peace started between NATO and Romania, the Eastern
European country has clearly shown its intentions regarding a future membership in the
Organization. The intentions of Romania during the 90s and the Strategic Partnership with the
United States of America, have given another reason for the North Atlantic Alliance to want
the country as a member.
One other reason why he Alliance needed Romania as a member is the military
capability of the country and how its territory could be strategically exploited.
After NATO refused to include it in the first wave of enlargement because of the late
acceleration of the reform process in the second half of the 90s, Romania continued to show
its loyalty towards the organization. By participating to the Military operations in Afghanistan
and Iraq, Romania gave one more reason for becoming a member, and alongside the
continuous reform process the country has reached the member status.
In a general way, in accordance with Stephen Walt’s “balance of threat” theory,
NATO needed Romania to enlarge, to get closer to the regions characterized by security
instability. NATO wanted Romania for its contribution to a better security cooperation and to
balance the threats coming from the Middle East and Central Asia. Romania also needed
NATO to balance the threat represented by the Russian Federation.
77
From the other side, we wanted to show that Romania also needed to become a
member of the North Atlantic Alliance for many reasons. The historical argument and
Romania’s will to return to a closer relation with the Western Europe is very important. For
the Eastern European country a way to have closer relation with the Occident is by becoming
member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and then the European Union. Here we
have related our subject to the foreign aid as a special form of balancing behavior.78
In the 90s when the Partnership for Peace started, Romania was aware of its potential
influence in the region and what an important actor it can become. We have proven that
Romania needed NATO in order to accelerate the political and economic reform. In other
words, through the motivation to become a member and by fulfilling the requirements for
integration, Romania has accelerated the reforms. It is also important to mention the
assistance offered by NATO in order for a country to become a member, assistance that is one
of the most important reasons of why Romania needed NATO.
From the economic perspective, Romania needed to become a member of the Alliance
in order to prove that it is a safe and secure country and with certain ambitions, so that the
foreign investors will help raise the economy.
Romania also needed the Alliance in order of enhance its military capabilities in order
to be able to play a more complex and important role in the security in the region
The chapters from the analysis part are there to prove the necessity of one part for the
other and we cannot consider them as possible separate subjects because they are elements of
one subject. We have chosen to organize the analysis in six different chapters in order to have
a better structure and to help the reader really understand why NATO needed Romania and
why the Alliance wanted the Eastern European country as a member. The organization of the
analysis in six chapters is a proof of certain analytical skills.
The fact that the subject is up to date due to the recent events in Ukraine and the
necessity of security in the region is also an invitation to study more on the subject
What we also wanted to emphasize in this project is the importance of security
cooperation in Europe trough the NATO structures.
78
WALT Stephen, The Origins of Alliances, Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 1987, p. 46;
78
Romania wanted to become part of NATO also as a security measure, given that the
country is positioned between two regions characterized by security instability. The fact that
Romania wanted to become a member was a benefit for the Alliance enlargement plans in the
90s.
The critique is not missing and we have analyzed some difficulties in Romania’s way
into becoming a member. So yes, we have critical perspective over this relation between
NATO and Romania but in time, Romania’s development came to reassure NATO that the
decision to invite Romania to become a member in the 2002 Prague Summit was a good
decision.
In April this year, the celebration of 10 years of Romanian membership of NATO and
the conclusions drawn after a decade have come to prove that the relation between the two
sides was a win-win situation. Despite some difficulties in the internal administration of the
country, after a decade of membership Romania proved its capability and its role to the
security of the region and to the international security cooperation. We can say that Romania
became a pillar in NATO’s structures.
79
VI. Bibliography
Books and Dictionaries:
1.
BARANY Zoltan, The Future of NATO Expansion - Four Case Studies, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore,
São Paulo, 2003;
2. CARPENTER Ted Galen and Barbara Conry editors, NATO enlargement: illusions and
reality, CATO Institute, Washington D.C., 2001;
3.
DUIGNAN Peter, NATO – It’s Past, Present, and Future, Hoover Institution Press,
Stanford University, Stanford, California, 2000;
4. EDSTRÖM Håkan, HAALAND MATLARY Janne and PETERSSON Magnus, editors,
NATO: The Power of Partnerships, New Security Challenges Collection, Palgrave
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5. GALLAGHER Tom, Deceniul Pierdut al Romaniei – Mirajul integrării Europene după
anul 2000, trad. Simona Ceauşu, Editura All, Bucureşti, 2010;
6. GHECIU Alexandra, NATO in the New Europe – The Politics of International
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7. HUNTINGTON P. Samuel , The Clash of Civilization and the Remaking of the World
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8. LEANDER Anna, Commercializing Security in Europe – Political Consequences for
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9. BRZEZINSKI Zbigniew, The Grand Chessboard – American Primacy and Its
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10. Dictionnaire de la Langue Française – lexis, Larousse, Paris, 1994 ;
80
11. LAŠAS Ainius, European Union and NATO Expansion –Central and Eastern Europe,
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12. Concise Oxford Dictionary edited by Angus Stevenson and Maurice White, Oxford
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Cooperation, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2005;
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Institutul European, Iasi, 2008;
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1987;
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81
4. PETERSEN Alexandros , The Black Sea Security: The NATO Imperative, Wilson Center,
available online at http://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/black-sea-security-the-natoimperative ;
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VII. Annexes
1. Romanian Air Bases
79
2.
80
79
http://www.futura-dtp.dk/Flysiden/Fireworks/Rumanien/RumanienFW.gif
83
3. Black Sea Map
81
80
81
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/60312000/gif/_60312124_us_missile_def_slide02_624_2.gif
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Black_Sea_map.png
84