East flank land deployment (Romania)

At the 2014 Wales Summit, the Allies agreed to implement the Readiness Action Plan (RAP) to respond rapidly to fundamental changes in the security environment, at NATO's borders and elsewhere.

Building on the RAP, the Allies adopted new decisions at the 2016 Warsaw Summit to reinforce NATO's deterrence and defence posture and to help project stability and strengthen security beyond NATO's territory.

These decisions constitute the largest increase in the Alliance's collective defence in a generation. Combined with the forces and capabilities needed for rapid reinforcement by follow-on forces, these measures will enhance the security of all Allies and ensure that Alliance territory, populations, airspace and sea lines of communication, including across the Atlantic, are protected against threats from wherever they emanate.

In line with the decisions of the 2016 Warsaw Summit, four multinational battle groups were deployed in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in July 2017. The allies also increased their activity in the southeast through a tailored presence on land, sea and air to improve situational awareness, interoperability and responsiveness.

In response to Russia's actions in the Black Sea region in November 2018, NATO decided to increase its presence in the region to further improve situational awareness. The allies also stepped up their support to Georgia and Ukraine with more training and exercises for maritime forces and coast guards, as well as port visits.

Following Russia's unprovoked and unwarranted invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Allies have sent more ships, aircraft and troops to NATO territory in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, further strengthening the Alliance's deterrence and defence posture. This includes the deployment of thousands of additional troops to NATO battle groups, fighter aircraft to support NATO's air policing missions, reinforced naval forces in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas, an increase in overall troop readiness and, for the first time, the deployment of the NATO Response Force's highest readiness element to Romania.En la Cumbre extraordinaria de la OTAN, celebrada en Bruselas el 24 de marzo de 2022, los Jefes de Estado y de Gobierno aliados acordaron establecer otros cuatro grupos de combate multinacionales en Bulgaria, Hungría, Rumanía y Eslovaquia.

At the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid, the Allies agreed on a new NATO Force Model, which represents a further expansion of the high-readiness forces potentially available to NATO, where and when needed, and new measures to increase NATO's ability to reinforce Allies in the East. In addition, the Allies agreed to expand multinational Battlegroups from battalion to brigade size. The details of the NATO Force Model, including its exact scale and composition, are still being developed.

Subsequently, at the 2023 Vilnius Summit, the Allies approved a new generation of regional defence plans, which will significantly improve the coherence of NATO's collective defence plans with Allies' national force, posture, capabilities and command and control plans. 

The allies have also agreed to boost NATO's capacity to reinforce its forces in the East by developing:

• more pre-positioned equipment and weapons arsenals;
• more forward-deployed capabilities, including integrated air and missile defence systems;
• strengthened command and control;
• enhanced regional defence planning, with specific forces pre-assigned to the defence of specific allies.

NATO, and thus Spain as an ally, has increased its military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance as a direct consequence of Russia's behaviour, which reflects a pattern of aggressive actions against its neighbours and the wider transatlantic community.