Romania joins NATO battle group in Bulgaria

Romania is currently contributing to regional and global security with over 1,000 personnel and is also participating in EU missions and operations.
As of January 2025, Romania is expanding its troop and equipment presence in two NATO Battle Groups operating in allied countries on the eastern flank, namely Slovakia (with an anti-tank unit) and Bulgaria (with a reconnaissance unit), while continuing to participate in one of the Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battle Groups in Poland with an anti-aircraft unit.
The Romanian Ministry of Defence recalled that the decision to deploy multinational battle groups in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary was taken at the NATO summit in Madrid in 2022 as part of the reinforcement of collective defence measures on the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance. The new battlegroups were modelled on those in the Baltic states and Poland that were deployed after the 2016 NATO summit in Warsaw.
The battlegroup in Slovakia is led by Spain and includes troops from the Czech Republic, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia. The Battle Group in Bulgaria is led by Italy and includes troops from Albania, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Turkey and the United States.
Romania's enhanced contribution to Allied deterrence and defence complements the presence of Romanian soldiers in the battle group deployed in Poland, where Bucharest has been participating since 2017.
Romania's presence with more than 150 soldiers and equipment in the North Atlantic Alliance battlegroups reflects its firm commitment to strengthening the collective defense of the eastern flank, Aggerpress stressed.
The national defence ministry mentioned that the framework country of the NATO battlegroup in Romania is France. Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain are participating. The formation in Bulgaria is under the command of the Multinational Division Southeast, based in Bucharest.
NATO's 360-degree approach to defence and deterrence aims to ensure collective security by encompassing the Alliance's three core tasks - deterrence and defence, crisis prevention and management, and security cooperation.
Romania currently contributes to the maintenance of regional and global security with over 1 000 personnel and also participates in EU missions and operations. A Romanian is the commander of the EU Training Mission for the Armed Forces of the Central African Republic (EUTM RCA) and a Romanian will also take command of the EUFOR ALTHEA mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Thus, Romania will simultaneously exercise command of two of the nine military operations and missions conducted under the auspices of the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy, to which it contributes military personnel and equipment. | BGNES