As of: March 13, 2024, 10:10 a.m
By: Marc Dimitriu
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Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania, is running for the office of NATO chief.
© Montage: Jean-Francois Badias/AP/dpa, IMAGO / ITAR-TASS
There is a change at the top of NATO this year: the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, is also applying to succeed Jens Stoltenberg.
Strengthening Europe is one of its core points.
Bucharest – NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg will be leaving office in the fall after ten years.
A competition has now broken out for the successor at the top of the defense alliance.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is now entering the race.
German-speaking President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, is applying to become NATO chief
“I have decided to apply for the post of NATO Secretary General,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
The 64-year-old said it was time for Romania, which has been a NATO member since 2004, “to take on even greater responsibility given the current security situation.”
The Romanian head of state belongs to the Romanian-German ethnic group of Transylvanian Saxons, is a native German speaker and was mayor of the Transylvanian city of Hermannstadt (Romanian Sibiu) for a long time.
“Permanent Russian threat”: As NATO chief, Iohannis wants to strengthen Europe’s defense
Iohannis emphasized that his country could “contribute to shaping a new vision” in the face of the “serious and persistent Russian threat.”
Romania borders Ukraine and has invested heavily in its defense since the Russian war of aggression.
The former Eastern bloc state is an important NATO partner and is home to several NATO bases where US missile defense systems are also stationed.
The country is currently building bunkers to secure the NATO border against Russia.
Iohannis would be the first NATO Secretary General from a former Warsaw Pact country.
The role of Europe in particular is a crucial point for him during the Ukraine war, as he writes in a guest article for
Politico
: “One of the important lessons we have learned is that the stronger the entire alliance, the safer it becomes Europe is within NATO.
“Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has shattered the peace and seriously altered our security environment, with implications beyond the borders of the Euro-Atlantic region.”
NATO: Klaus Iohannis calls for support for Ukraine – “There is nothing more important today”
In his application, the Romanian president calls for deterrence and defense to be adjusted.
Above all, support for Ukraine is crucial: “There is nothing more important today than ensuring that Ukraine wins in its existential struggle, and we can achieve this by providing all the necessary support, no matter how long it takes.”
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The favorite in the race for the post of NATO chief is currently the outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose candidacy is supported by Germany, the USA, Great Britain and France.
However, Hungary rejects his candidacy.
Secretary General Stoltenberg's successor is expected to be announced before the NATO summit in Washington in July.
The decision must be supported by all members of the military alliance.
(md with AFP)