Parliament, in a joint session on Tuesday, adopted, at the request of President Klaus Iohannis, the decision to establish the Regional Special Operations Component Command (HQR-SOCC) on the territory of Romania, in the Garrison of Targu Mures, as a non-permanent structure, on the principle of lead nation, with rotational command.

There were 239 votes "in favour," three "against" and 38 abstentions.

"The organisation and functioning of the Command shall be established bilaterally between Romania and Bulgaria, through technical arrangements," the decision provides.

In drawing up the Regional Plan for the South-East (RP-SE), NATO identified the need for a Special Operations Forces (SOF) command and control (C2) structure for the Black Sea region to ensure the command, control and synchronisation of allied SOF efforts in the region against the backdrop of the radically changed international security environment caused by the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine, the head of state explained in the letter to Parliament.

''In this context and given the proximity of Romania and Bulgaria to the conflict zone, the military structures of the two countries have proposed a project to set up a Regional Special Operations Component Command, in a bilateral format, to fill the command and control vacuum, and subsequently to be included in the created structure. The common intention of Romania and Bulgaria is to achieve full operational capability by the end of 2024," President Iohannis' letter also showed. AGERPRES (RO - author: Livia Popescu, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - editor: Adina Panaitescu)