In light of the risk level it faces and of its weight, Romania must set itself as a goal securing at least 20 billion of the 150 billion euros announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in defense loans, Social Democrat MEP Victor Negrescu declared on Tuesday in Strasbourg.

The 150 billion euros represent the low-interest loan component that will be contracted by the European Commission from the EU’s 800 billion euro rearmament plan, of which the remaining 650 billion euros would be provided from national investments, EU funds or the private sector.

„I believe it is crucial for Romania to already take steps to make sure that the formula for these funds’ distribution takes into account the risks faced by member states and, in particular, the fact that the frontline states are the ones that urgently need funding for the defense component. Consequently, this means that we must have a calculation formula that takes into consideration these additional risks,” Negrescu told a briefing for Romanian journalists.

„I believe that out of the 150 billion euros, Romania must set itself the goal – given both the risk it faces and its weight – to secure at least 20 billion euros in funds that should reach our country either through national distribution or through the possibility of effectively participating in European competitions and automatically managing to obtain at least this chunk form this European program that will be defined in the coming months,” the MEP added.

Negrescu, who serves as European Parliament Vice-President, pleaded for „an efficient strategy, with well-thought-out steps” for Romania, which should determine „what projects we are tabling”, so as not to find ourselves again in the situation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which „was not properly written”.

„We have this public consultation process in place, and we have to already think about involving the relevant companies from both the public and private sectors and to put those projects on the table, because only thus will we be able to secure that money now,” Negrescu also stated.

He explained that the European treaties very clearly specify which types of financing are eligible for European funding and that „generally these are about production capacities and everything the dual technology area means.”

„This is why, for example, drones were mentioned as being eligible. The purchase of military equipment requires increased attention to these European treaties. Some changes have been made to the regulations, but not all categories of military equipment can be procured from European money today,” he pointed out.

„I believe that Europe must invest in industrial capabilities more than in procurement, and I also believe that we must have joint systems. The more interconnectedness, the greater the interdependence between member states, and the more common security guarantees will cover all the states,” said Negrescu.

He also advocated the eligibility of third states for ReArm Europe projects, „yet only to the extent that those states will also co-finance this fund.”

Negrescu mentioned that there is currently no set timeframe for the delivery of the projects, but that he expects more details to emerge in the run-up to the NATO summit in The Hague this summer.

„Probably after that summit we will already enter the final lap in drawing up these programs for the endowment and development of the European military industry. So, in my opinion, we still have about three months of reflection on these elements until we enter a timetable that the European Commission will present. These three months are crucial in identifying projects and attracting investors, because there is a big battle across Europe in convincing the relevant military technology companies to invest in their own countries,” explained the EP Vice-President.

„It’s not like you wake up today and tomorrow you already have a project in the making. This is impossible. For this reason I believe that increased attention is needed from the part of national authorities, and I hope that domestic political disputes do not affect this capacity of Romania, because we would once again miss out on an essential moment,” the MEP cautioned.

AGERPRES