Romania cannot be intimidated from a security point of view, being part of the largest military defence alliance in the world, „of a very solid deterrence system,” Senate President Nicolae Ciuca said on Wednesday at the opening of the International Black Sea Defence and Aerospace Exhibition – BSDA 2024.
„We have the security umbrella of NATO, but we must do our best as partners of the Alliance in the years to come. Being on NATO’s Eastern flank forces us to be more vigilant in the medium and long term. We will – probably – have to live for years with an aggressive Russia in our vicinity,” said Nicolae Ciuca.
He added that political radicalism remains a problem for Romania.
„Political radicalism remains a problem for Romania because it undermines social cohesion. The voices in Romania that attack the European Union, that attack our Western allies are doing a service to Russia. Romania’s security is an extremely important issue, which starts from the responsibility of the political forces and of all Romanians,” said Ciuca.
The head of the Senate pointed out that there is an extensive debate across Europe about rethinking the security paradigm on the old continent and the need to invest in defence to protect the citizens, and Romania has understood this since 2015.
„Since 2015, Romania has understood that it must be not only a beneficiary, but also a provider of security, first for itself and then in the region. By consensus of all political actors, the defence budget was increased to 2% of GDP. This percentage has increased again to 2.5%. It is important that some of these funds are used to restart the defence industry. We have at least some good news in this respect. First of all, we have good specialists, highly valued in the technical area and military expertise, trained also within NATO and within the bilateral relations of the strategic partnerships that our country has. Secondly, Romania has a tradition in the defence industry, which it is beginning to take up again and which it can quickly capitalise on,” Nicolae Ciuca said.
Also in the investment chapter, Ciuca referred to the maintenance, repair and overhaul centre for the S-70 Black Hawk helicopters, as well as to the announcement of the Korean company Hanwha Aerospace to set up an industrial hub for Europe in Romania, but also to investments in research, innovation and acquisition of military technology.
„A part of the defence budget should be dedicated to research and innovation – at least 2%, as well as 20% should be dedicated to the acquisition of military technology,” Ciuca said.
AGERPRES
