NATO hopes for expansion of Alliance in coming years - Geoană
Deputy Secretary General of NATO Mircea Geoană (nato int)
NATO hopes that in the coming years, the Alliance will expand, and the border will move eastward, according to NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană, quoted by Ziua de Vest.
Mircea Geoană made this statement during the presentation of his book The Battle for Romania's Future: Thoughts of a Romanian at the Top of NATO. The book also describes the war in Ukraine.
The Deputy Secretary General of NATO is convinced that in the coming years, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and the Western Balkans will become part of the European community and eventually members of the Euro-Atlantic alliance.
According to Joana, Romania will soon no longer be the eastern border of NATO, and the Alliance's border will move eastward.
"Therefore, it is time for Romania to finally escape from the periphery of Europe and position itself in the center of Europe in terms of importance," said the NATO official.
He added that France, Germany, Poland, and Romania form a naturally powerful quadrilateral: the two largest countries in Western Europe and the two largest countries in Eastern Europe.
The path of Ukraine to NATO
On September 30, 2022, it became known that Ukraine applied for accelerated accession to NATO. Ukraine expected to receive an invitation to join NATO during the summer summit in Vilnius, but this did not happen.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasizes that Ukraine will not be able to join the Alliance until active hostilities come to an end.
Following the application, Ukraine received recommendations from NATO regarding its accession. This occurred after the Ukraine-NATO Council meeting, which took place in Brussels on November 29. The recommendations pertain to initial reforms for entry into the Alliance.
