“If he aspires to get the European post, President Klaus Iohannis should know that all the important European posts have already been given, and he ‘woke up late,'” says former president Traian Basescu. In his opinion, Klaus Iohannis should lead a “battle” so that the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, “a person who despises Romania”, is not elected as the Secretary General of NATO.

Triasn Basescu made the announcement on Digi 24 on Tuesday night.

“If he aims for a position in the European Union, he should be very careful, because the position of the president of the European Commission is given. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will receive a new mandate. The post of President of the European Parliament has been granted – Roberta Metzola will have a second term. The position of the president of the European Council will definitely go to Renew, and the supreme representative for foreign policy will continue to belong to the socialist Josep Borrell, since the socialists have no other position.

In my opinion, important European positions have been granted (…) He woke up late if he wanted a European position,” Basescu said.

In his opinion, Klaus Iohannis should lead a “battle” so that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, “a man who despises Romania”, is not elected as the Secretary General of NATO:

• “If anything can be done, it is to fight Mark Rutte, a man who despises Romania and is obliged (no – Klaus Iohannis) to prevent this man from becoming the Secretary General of NATO.
• If the US, along with Great Britain, commits to supporting Rutte, this will be very difficult to prevent, but Romania should abandon the idea of ​​Rutte becoming NATO Secretary General.
• Romania does not need a person who has proven that he is hostile to this country, stops a lot for no reason
• What Iohannis can do from the position of a self-proposed candidate for the position of the head of NATO or from the position of the head of the Romanian state is to oppose.”

The USA, Great Britain and France announced their support for the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte for the post of NATO Secretary General.

Later, Romania informed its NATO allies that it intends to propose Klaus Iohannis as the Secretary General of the Alliance, official sources confirmed to HotNews.ro.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg categorically ruled out the possibility of remaining at the head of the Alliance after October of this year, when his term of office expires, as his authority has already been extended due to the start of the war in Ukraine.

The name of Klaus Iohannis has also been mentioned as a successor to Jens Stoltenberg as the head of NATO in the past. Before the extension of the powers of the current NATO Secretary General, the president was on the list of possible successors. Moreover, in 2022, President Klaus Iohannis did not rule out the possibility of becoming Jens Stoltenberg’s successor at the head of NATO.

The Secretary General of NATO is a high-ranking (civilian) political figure of a NATO member state, who is appointed by the member states for a four-year term. The selection is made through informal diplomatic consultations between the member countries that propose candidates for the position.

No decision is confirmed until consensus is reached on a single candidate. The post is traditionally held by a high-ranking European political figure.