Minister Ionut Mosteanu drew attention on Thursday to the fact that, this year, the Romanian state's interest expenses will be higher than the budget allocated to Defense.
"Poland has 47 billion (of euros - ed.) and we have 9 billion (of euros - ed.) for Defense. We have around 42-43 billion RON in the Defense budget this year. The Romanian state's interest expenses this year will be around 53 billion. That is, this year, Romania is paying more on interest, because loans were made in previous years, countless, so to speak, than it is on Defense. That says a lot about where we are as a state at the moment, and from here on out we must take some determined steps to rebalance things," declared Mosteanu, during a press conference at the Victoria Palace.
He mentioned that, in order to reduce expenses, the case of each institution must be analyzed individually and investments that are truly necessary in the immediate future must be prioritized.
"Each institution has its own specifics, each ministry has its own specifics. We have to look on a case-by-case basis where certain expenses can be adjusted. There will be further discussions in the coalition, each minister must carefully manage their budgets and optimize, prioritize. This will be done in next year's budget and on the investment side. When we say investments, it sounds good, but maybe not all of them are necessary next year. Maybe, just some. Maybe we will start some of them in 2027," the minister explained.
Ionut Mosteanu reiterated his belief that, at this moment, it is not appropriate to cut revenues from the national defense system.
"I think the entire national defense system must be well motivated in the coming period. You see what problems we have, every day. Two nights ago, we had drones again. The Russians are quite agitated on our border. (...) The Ministry of the Interior has all kinds of growing challenges that it didn't have two years ago. I think we need to look carefully at what our priorities are as a country, as a nation, in the coming period," he emphasized.
The minister did not want to comment on the PSD's opposition to the salary cuts in the public sector. In his opinion, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan is managing to "set the right direction" after the "poor budget management" of recent years.
The minister did not want to comment on the PSD's opposition to the salary cuts in the public sector. In his opinion, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan is managing to "set the right direction" after the "poor budget management" of recent years.
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