Defence investments
Romania is due to receive 16 billion euros worth of funding to strengthen its defence industry basis in Europe.
Bogdan Matei, 21.11.2025, 14:00
A member of NATO for the last two decades and connected to the United States through a strategic partnership, Romania is also investing in its own security through the collective mechanisms of the European Union. The Romanian government on Thursday approved the necessary legal framework for the implementation of SAFE, a EU security financial instrument, which will be managed, primarily, by the Ministry of National Defence, said defence minister, Ionuţ Moşteanu. “Today we have taken a mandatory step, a necessary step to ensure the legal framework for the implementation of the SAFE financing instrument for strengthening Europe’s defence industrial base (…). The Ministry of National Defence is the main beneficiary of this financing instrument. Also, the Ministry of Transport is an important beneficiary and there are other institutions, such as the Ministry of the Interior, the Romanian Intelligence Service, and the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations. (…) The Ministry of the Economy was also involved (…), it will provide the conditions for industrial cooperation, for the localization of production for the main endowment programs”, the minister also explained.
Through this community financing instrument, Romania stands to benefit from over 16 billion euros. It is the second largest allocation, after Poland. The list of institutions and companies in the defence sector included in the programme and potential suppliers is to be approved by the Supreme Council of National Defence. Minister Moșteanu explained that the projects that will be carried out through SAFE have two important components, defence and transportation. The latter also includes two major sections of motorway, both in the east of the country, close to the unstable ex-Soviet space. On the other hand, the minister highlighted that, this year, the expenses incurred by the Romanian state as a result of the interest rates on the many loans contracted by successive governments will be higher than the defence budget itself.
“The defence budget amounts to around 42-43 billion lei. The Romanian state’s expenses with interest this year will be around 53 billion. So this year, Romania is spending more on interest rates than on defence, because almost countless loans have been taken out over the last years. That says a lot about where we are as a state at the moment, and from now on we must take some decisive steps to rebalance the situation,” said Moşteanu. He added that, in order to reduce expenses, each institution must be assessed separately and the truly necessary investments must be prioritised in the immediate future. The minister reiterated his belief that it is not appropriate to cut defence funding.
