The deterioration of
the security context in Eastern Europe following the Russian invasion in
Ukraine has prompted several countries to reexamine their defense capabilities.
Romania too wants to increase its GDP contribution to defense spending to 2.5%.
The measure could be submitted to Parliament for debate this week. Senate
Speaker, Florin Cîțu, wrote on social media that this will ensure all coming
governments will observe this budget. The increase of the defense budget was
announced by president Klaus Iohannis following a meeting of the country’s
Supreme Defense Council. He pointed out that, in the current security context,
Romania needs to take concerted action in two directions: increasing the
defense capabilities of the Romanian state and securing the country’s energy
independence, in particular by developing sustainable and civilian nuclear
energy sources.
It is key to ensure better conditions for equipping our armed
forces, so they should train better and increase the operational response
capacity of the Romanian Army, helping it react to current and prospective
security threats , the president point out. Defense Minister Vasile Dîncu in
turn argues that increasing Romania’s defense capabilities is a complex
objective in the medium- and long-term. The army has a strategic document, an
ambitious equipping program aimed at procuring state-of-the-art military
technologies and providing superior training to our human resources, the
preparation of our territory and of the population for the defense of our
homeland. 2.5% of the GDP will help achieve this target sooner than planned,
before 2040, Dîncu pointed out. The
Romanian defense minister said Romania is defending part of NATO’s eastern
flank and is thus part of NATO’s plans to modernize its collective defense.
Those who argue against defense, saying we should become military neutral, are
mistaken, and the best evidence of that is the tragedy in Ukraine right now,
Minister Dîncu pointed out.
This week
Parliament is expected to receive a law package on national security, which is
expected to be adopted as a top priority. The director of the Romanian
Intelligence Service, Eduard Hellvig, underlined the need to swiftly adopt
these laws in order to create and streamline clear mechanisms required to
manage prospective crises. Finally, MPs are also examining the Offshore Law
aimed at greenlighting a number of important energy projects. (VP)