News item | 20-04-2022 | 14:56
The Netherlands is making a military contribution of about 200 soldiers to a NATO battlegroup in Romania. The Dutch are expected to be stationed this summer at a military base in Cincu, in the center of the country. They are in principle part of the forward NATO presence for 12 months.
This company-sized airmobile unit is housed in a French-led battlegroup of around 900 soldiers. A separate stitching team of about 85 soldiers may be going to Romania next month. The engineers are not part of the battlegroup but help to prepare the location. That is expected to take about half a year. This is subject to French planning and the potential need for engineer capacity.
NATO reinforcements eastern flank
The unit contributes to NATO’s deterrence through its presence in Romania and the exercises conducted by the military there. The military can act quickly to protect the NATO treaty area if necessary. The deployment also contributes to reassuring NATO allies in the region. As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its implications for the security situation in Europe, NATO is reviewing its collective defense function and strengthening its eastern flank. The allies thus agreed at the beginning of April to deploy battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.
Commanded by Supreme Allied Commander Europe
The battlegroup in Romania will soon also fall under the command of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). This is comparable to the current management of enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in Lithuania. This means that SACEUR can make decisions about the relocation and deployment of these units without further permission from the countries concerned. In doing so, SACEUR acts within the frameworks set by the NATO allies.
Dutch soldiers have meanwhile carried out a reconnaissance mission. Among other things, the local circumstances, the agreements and the division of tasks with France and Romania were examined. A second exploration will follow next month to fine-tune the final details.
Dutch contributions in Eastern Europe
The Netherlands has greatly expanded NATO’s military presence in Eastern Europe. Immediately after the start of the war in Ukraine, the air force deployed several combat aircraft (F-35 and F-16) from the Netherlands for Air Policing tasks above the eastern flank of the treaty area. Now there are 4 F-35s stationed in Bulgaria to guard the airspace until the end of May. At sea, the Netherlands commands one of NATO’s permanent response forces and supplies it with a frigate. The navy also supplies a minehunter to another NATO fleet. Furthermore, the armed forces recently deployed the Patriots to Slovakia. Finally, the army has been participating in the forward NATO presence in Lithuania for more than 5 years. As of this summer, the deployment of eFP Romania will therefore be added.