EU member state France is investigating the possibilities of launching a new NATO military mission in Romania together with the Netherlands. The aim of the NATO mission will be to better protect the south-eastern flank of NATO against possible Russian aggression. France is also looking at other NATO countries, but sees the Netherlands as an important "strategic partner". The head of the French Army, Thierry Burkhard, spoke about the initiative in an interview with the Dutch newspaper NRC, published on Saturday (19 February).
NATO secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Wednesday (16 February) that French soldiers could be sent to Romania amid what he said were signs that Russia is continuing to prepare for conflict in Ukraine.
The proposed French-led battle-group in Romania "will not necessarily be exactly the same as the battle-groups we have in the Baltic countries, but it's based on some of the same concepts," Stoltenberg told a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday after meeting with the alliance's defence ministers.
A spokesperson for the Dutch Ministry of Defence said there is no official request from France yet, but that any French requests will be considered "very seriously". NATO has not yet decided on the expansion of the Enhanced Forward Presence in Eastern Europe.
In recent weeks, France has offered to lead the new battle-groups in Romania, while neighbouring Bulgaria is another country eligible for the deployment of a battle-group. There are currently four multinational battle-groups in eastern Europe, established by a decision of NATO's 2016 Warsaw Summit in response to Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014. There are forces in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, which are led by the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and the United States, respectively.
