The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, informed Parliament this Monday that he plans to make a visit before Christmasthe Portuguese military of the National Detachment Force participating in a NATO mission in Romania.
In the letter addressed to the Assembly of the Republic, the Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces requests “the necessary assent” from the deputies for his “trip to romaniaon December 19 and 20, 2022, in order to visit, on Christmas Eve” the Outstanding National Force in this country.
Since he took office as head of state in 2016, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has visited the national forces deployed on military missions in Kaunas, Lithuania, and Malaga, Spain, in 2017, in the Central African Republic, in 2018, and in Afghanistan, in 2019. .
On the day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, February 24, the Higher Council of National Defense urgently met and gave its consent, unanimously, to the possible participation of Portuguese military means in NATO preparation forces and the forecast of sending Portuguese soldiers to Romania.
The deployment plan of the national forces for 2022 already provided for the sending of a contingent of Portuguese soldiers to Romania in the second half of this year, as happened in 2021, but the departure was brought forward due to the context of war between Ukraine and Russia. .
The 1st Detached National Force, made up of 222 Portuguese soldiers, left for Romania on April 15 of this year.
On May 19, the Prime Minister, António Costa, visited and spoke with 222 Portuguese soldiers at the Caracal Military Base, next to him the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, and the Romanian Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucâ, who thanked the presence of national troops in his country????????
In October they left for Romania. 166 Portuguese soldiers of the 2nd Detached National Force for a NATO mission in that country that intends to contribute to the deterrence and defense efforts of the Atlantic Alliance on its southeast flank.
The assent of the Assembly of the Republic to the trips of the Head of State is a formality imposed by the Constitution, which establishes that the President of the Republic cannot leave the national territory without authorization from Parliament.
Source: Observadora
