DefMin Ciuca vows to carry through his projects in new chapter of life

Incoming Defence Minister Nicolae Ciuca says his new position will make it possible for him to carry through all the projects he started while he was Romania's chief of defence staff. "Today, a new chapter has been opened in my life, one that gives me more responsibility and which will give me the opportunity to carry through all the projects that I started in my term of office as chief of the defence staff. The defence minister position honours me and I am aware that by holding it I will have to contribute even more to fulfill our duty under the Constitution. Usually, we would say: 'On three pillars'. We count on our NATO membership, on EU membership and our strategic partnership with the US. I would add here another pillar - ourselves, because we have known each other for 14 years, we grow and train together and I am convinced that together we will accomplish the mission we have undertaken," Ciuca wrote on Tuesday in a Facebook post. He thanks all those who believed in him and his comrades who understood him when opting to join the government. Nicolae Ciuca took over the Defence portfolio on Tuesday, in the presence of President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Ludovic Orban. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Rodica State)