Romania must have a professional and solid army and a defense industry to serve it, says presidential advisor Radu Burnete.

„Mark Rutte sent a very clear message today: Romania has allies it can rely on. If Romania is attacked, 31 states will jump to its defense. At the same time, we must do our homework as well. We have seen too many things said too easily in the public space. It is important that our society realizes how much the world has changed in recent years and how dangerous it has become. Romania must have a professional and solid army and a defense industry to serve it. There is nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, the European languor of the last 30 years has put the Union in a difficult situation that we should never have ended up in. If we look at history, there is a strong connection between prosperity and military power,” Burnete wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday, in the context of the visit to Bucharest by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

In the opinion of the presidential advisor, „an increased military capacity increases our country’s freedom of action”.

„Unfortunately, freedom must be defended. It also makes us a more valuable ally with a stronger voice in the EU and NATO, isn’t that what we keep saying we want? To sit at the table of the great people? Well, at that table you have to pay for your consumption, not just to drink water. Word of mouth is less productive offline”, he pointed out.

Radu Burnete emphasized that „a serious defense industry also has multiple economic benefits”.

„I keep hearing criticism that Romania is accessing the SAFE program and taking out loans to strengthen its defense when our deficit is very high. Or that we should no longer support Ukraine (although we do so with 0.2% of GDP). It is true that we have gone into unnecessary debt when we saw what was happening around us. We need to reduce our deficit and allocate more to defense at the same time. We have no choice. Does anyone want to know how much we need to allocate to defense if we end up having a border with the Russian Federation? The current fiscal consolidation (which some want with the brakes pulled anyway) will seem like a water pistol to us. And precisely for these reasons we need to have a more competitive economy, so that we can afford everything,” he pointed out.

The presidential advisor appreciates the fact that „Rheinmetall has decided to make a big investment in Romania”. „We will see more news like this. It is very good that we will reform our own defense industry and that we will spend on equipping our troops. What do you want them to defend us with in case of something? With weapons from the 70s? We all hope, with all our hearts, that we will never need to use these tools to defend ourselves. That we will be able to continue living in peace and see ourselves calm about our problems. In the event of aggression, our allies will come to defend us, but they must find a nation here willing and able to do the same”, the presidential advisor pointed out.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is in Bucharest on Wednesday and Thursday, on his first visit to Romania since taking over the leadership of the Alliance.

The visit of the senior NATO official is taking place in the context of participation in the NATO Defense Industry Forum, an event intended for strategic dialogue with the defense industries of the allied states.

On Thursday morning, President Nicusor Dan and the NATO Secretary General will participate together in the NATO Industry Forum.

AGERPRES