Interim President Ilie Bolojan on Thursday said that in the European Council meeting discussions were held regarding the acceleration of measures for the preparation of European defence, with NATO remaining the foundation of collective defence.
„Discussions focused on accelerating measures for the preparation of European defence, so that there is significant consolidation within the next five years, with NATO remaining the foundation of collective defence. This means that in the near future, member states will be able to conduct joint defence procurements, which is an opportunity for the national defence industry to integrate into the value chains of the European or global defence industry,” Ilie Bolojan told a press conference in Brussels.
He clarified that this means that, in the near future, member states will be able to carry out joint defence procurements, and the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Economy will analyse the funding opportunities to integrate into European defense conglomerates.
„In the near future, both the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Economy, private companies in the defence sector, as well as other companies that supply components that can be transferred to the defence industry, will have the opportunity and will need to work, at least the ministries, to analyse the opportunities related to these kinds of funding, so that we can integrate into European defence conglomerates, in terms of production, to conduct joint procurements and access the funding made available to us by the European Union through the decisions made at the last Council meeting,” said the interim president.
Ilie Bolojan pointed out that there is no specific amount allocated to each country from the 150 billion euro loan mechanism proposed by the European Commission.
„Each country, respecting the rules proposed by the Commission, will submit a simplified financing application. This financing application will depend on the priorities set by the Ministry of Defence for defence strengthening procurements, but also on the overall European defence strategy, as some procurements will be made at the European level, and following this shared responsibility, we will decide on which priorities to pursue. As for the companies involved, we have over 100 private or state-owned companies in the defence industry, and these will be able to participate in such projects. I hope that both state-owned companies and private companies will be involved in these projects, because every order executed in Romania from these markets, like in other industries, means jobs in Romania, means better salaries, means technology absorbed by our industry, and it means capabilities for the future,” emphasised the interim president.
AGERPRES
