The defence committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate approved on Wednesday, by majority vote, a decision allowing the temporary deployment of certain United States capabilities at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, in line with a letter from Romania's president, Senate Defence Committee chair Nicoleta Pauliuc announced, adding that the capabilities are defensive.
The document is to be submitted for approval to the joint plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate at 17:00.
"The joint meeting of the defence committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate has concluded this debate. We approved by majority vote a decision allowing, as requested in the president of Romania's letter, the presence at the Mihail Kogalniceanu base of certain capabilities that will be deployed for a limited period. This issue may also exist in the public debate, and we discussed it in the committee: why a decision and not merely an information note, given the legal provisions. Last year, in September 2025, we presented an information note to Parliament regarding the presence of aircraft providing air-to-air refuelling capabilities. However, when there is a change in the configuration of parameters - meaning rotations or modifications in military presence - a parliamentary decision is required," Pauliuc said after the committees' meeting.
She said that this is both a political decision and one justified legally.
"The document we examined and debated, on the basis of which we took this decision, is classified. I can only confirm that the elements communicated by President Nicusor Dan are reflected in the decision. The capabilities the United States will relocate to Mihail Kogalniceanu are defensive," Pauliuc added.
She also noted that representatives of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) did not vote during the committees' meeting.
During the debates in the committees, several MPs from AUR and the Peace Romania First party asked to attend the meeting and to have access to the classified document. They expressed dissatisfaction after being denied access and told to consult the document through the committees' staff.
AUR MP Geanina Serban said that during the joint meeting of the standing bureaus it had been decided that the vote would take place online, in a hybrid format.
"I asked how an MP can vote online on a classified document and I was told that some may not want to read it. (...) We were removed from the defence committees' meeting and sent to consult a classified document with the committee staff. If this is what classified means, it is a surprise to me. Today, at 17:00, there will be a hybrid vote in the plenary, online, on a classified document that is not public and has not been consulted. How will it be voted and what exactly will be voted on?" Geanina Serban said.
She announced that AUR MPs will attend the joint plenary sitting.
The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies will meet on Wednesday at 17:00 in a joint session to rule on the letter from President Nicusor Dan regarding the temporary deployment in Romania of certain US military equipment and forces.
Comentează