<h6><strong>The Diplomat</strong></h6> <h4><strong>King Felipe will visit the Spanish contingents deployed on NATO missions in Romania and Slovakia on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, according to the Royal Household.</strong></h4> During the 2016 Warsaw Summit, it was decided to strengthen "deterrence" as a fundamental tool to guarantee the protection of Allied territory on the eastern flank. Subsequently, at the 2022 Madrid Summit, the Alliance recognized collective defense as the first priority among the missions contemplated in the new NATO Strategic Concept and agreed to expand it to eight Multinational Battlegroups (MN BG) deployed on the eastern flank. The Romanian Multinational Battlegroup is one of the eight contingents deployed along the eastern flank of the NATO. In October 2024, the Spanish Armed Forces began deploying personnel and capabilities to the Romanian town of Cincu to carry out activities similar to those already carried out in Latvia and Slovakia: conducting training exercises integrated into the French-led Multinational Battalion Group and those developed in cooperation with the Romanian Armed Forces. To this end, the Tercio de Armada Marine Infantry Brigade has deployed a Mechanized Tactical Subgroup to Romanian territory, composed of more than 200 soldiers and nearly 40 vehicles, ready to be integrated into a French-led multinational battalion and carry out the assigned mission. Until September 2024, the Spanish contribution of forces to these multinational units in Eastern Europe took the form of the Latvian Multinational Battalion Group and the Spanish-led Multinational Battalion Group in Slovakia. In July 2024, Spain assumed command of the Slovak multinational brigade, within the framework of NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence in Eastern Europe. According to the Ministry, this is the largest Spanish deployment abroad, with 828 Army personnel at the Lest and Kuchyma bases, along with significant heavy equipment. Joining this effort are Slovakia, Slovenia, Portugal, and the Czech Republic, which, under Spanish leadership, complete the Battlegroup's deterrence and defense capabilities. On June 2, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, received his Slovak counterpart, Juraj Blanár, in Madrid, before whom he reaffirmed Spain's "firm commitment" to NATO's eastern flank.
