Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan on Wednesday evening said that defence is an insurance for complicated situations and compared it to an "underground district heating system."
Referring to accusations by Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) leaders regarding the Government's alleged intention to divert funds from the SAFE programme, he said that, in this period, Romania made decisions concerning the procurement of armaments on the one hand and the modernisation of plants in the defence sector on the other.
"Romania, like other European countries, due to the war triggered by Russia in Ukraine by invading this country, has found that strengthening the eastern border is a necessity, because there is no longer any predictability in Russia's future behaviour. (...) In this period, Romania has made decisions that involve complying with certain rules, namely the procurement of armaments from the European defence industry on the one hand and, on the other hand, localising as large a share as possible in Romania, so that our factories, which practically no longer have work and are operating at a loss in the defence sector, can be modernised, put in order, and we can save one yard or another in Romania that are in a state of collapse, so that we can also develop our economy. Consider that from this credit the execution contracts will be signed for the motorway sections in the north-eastern area of Romania-Moldova, from Pascani-Suceava-Siret and Pascani-Iasi-Ungheni. These have also been financed from these defence credits in this period," Prime Minister Bolojan explained on TVR 1.
According to him, the contracts will be concluded in the coming months.
"The data have been presented in the joint defence committees of Parliament, so these are data to which all committee members have access; they have seen Romania's procurements, the prices at which these acquisitions are to be made, and in the coming period, after our programmes, our proposals, our funding application are submitted to the Commission and validated, the contracts will be able to be concluded, but not now, not in these days, but in the coming months, so that by 2030 we will have these investments carried out in Romania and the capacity of our army, from the procurement of anti-drone equipment to other capabilities that will make us a safer country, are a necessity. Of course, there is rhetoric used in the public space - 'look, money is going to defence instead of being directed elsewhere'," Ilie Bolojan added.
The head of Government compared defence to an underground district heating system, stressing that it is an insurance for complicated situations.
"You know, defence is like an underground district heating system which, when it functions, you do not see it and everything is in good order, but when there is a fault on a main line, you begin to see what such a system that does not work means - an entire neighbourhood without heating in winter or without hot water. So defence is an insurance for complicated situations. When everything is calm and peaceful, you do not think about these matters, but when you have a difficult situation, which we do not wish for, let us be clear, but which is possible in the current context. Consider that until now, the countries of Europe have had an insurance supported by the United States. The United States has quite rightly said, 'fine, we will maintain this insurance, but please increase your own contribution, because you are also beneficiaries', and this was a normal logic which Romania has respected, and not only Romania, but the other countries as well. Therefore, a country's security is very important and it does not seem of great importance while things are safe. When matters become complicated, that is when you realise how important it is to have adequate defence and a district heating system that works," Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan also argued.
