Romania approves €9.8bn defence spending package

Romania approves €9.8bn defence spending package
By bne IntelliNews August 2, 2017

Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defence (CSAT) approved a €9.8bn defence spending package on August 1 for the period 2017-2026 aimed at upgrading the country’s military, the president’s press office announced.

Bucharest is currently stepping up military procurement. As a Nato member, Romania is committed to spending 2% of GDP (€3.6bn per year approximately) on defence. The approval of the multi-billion euro defence package comes on the background on rising tensions between Russia and the US.

“For the completion of the envisaged upgrade programmes, with multi annual funds worth 9.8bn, it will be taken into account the involvement of the national defence industry, which has to modernise and develop adequate military production capacities,” the statement said.

At the end of last month, Romania’s Defence Minister Adrian Tutuianu confirmed Bucharest plans to buy a $3.9bn (€3.4bn) Patriot missile defence system. The government will also purchase HIMARS mobile missile systems worth some €700mn and 36 new F-16 jet fighters from the US by 2022, Tutuianu added. In the shorter term, Romania’s defence ministry needs 173 lorries “in a first stage” and around 100 buses for transporting troops, Tutuianu announced, hinting that more lorries will be acquired later.

Other European equipment suppliers are also eying investments in Romania. In April, Airbus Helicopters and Romania’s IAR signed a general agreement on exclusive cooperation on the heavy twin engine H215M multi-role helicopter. Under the agreement the Romanian company will become the prime contractor for the H215M for any future order by the Romanian defence ministry to replace their ageing fleet. 

In June Romania’s Uzina Automecanica Moreni and German military technology group Rheinmetall signed documents on setting up a joint venture (Romanian Military Vehicle Systems) aimed at producing armoured 8x8 vehicles. 

US Vice President Mike Pence is currently on a tour of Nato members and allies in Europe that includes Georgia, Estonia and Montenegro. The visit takes part immediately after the US Congress passed new sanctions against Moscow.

Tensions between Romania and Russia also rose last week as the Romanian authorities denied passage over its territory to a commercial plane that was carrying Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin as well as hundreds of other passengers to neighbouring Moldova on July 28.

Rogozin reacted harshly after he was barred access over Romania. “Wait for an answer, bastards,” he wrote on Twitter.

The Russian foreign ministry also reacted and labelled the incident “a deliberate provocation that seriously undermines Russian-Romanian relations,” a ministry statement said. The ministry called on the Romanian authorities "to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and provide an explanation".

Russia has also criticised the launch of a US missile site in Romania’s Deveselu. Moscow called it  “a threat to the security of Russian Federation”. 

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