The European Commission has approved what Romania will spend 16.6 billion euros on through SAFE: “We estimate that over 50% of the money will remain in the country”
“Romania received from the European Commission the framework contract for financing through the SAFE program, worth approximately 16.6 billion euros, which means that Romania's plan is approved at the European level and is on track for implementation,” Mihai Jurca, the head of the Prime Minister's Office, announced on Friday.
After the completion of the national procedures and the signing of the contract, we will be able to quickly access a 15% advance, essential for starting investments, the head of the Chancellery stated in a post on Facebook.
Production on all programs begins in the fall
The plan foresees strategic investments in the endowment of the Army, critical infrastructure and security, but also for the development of the national defense industry, through mechanisms that ensure production and added value in Romania.
The next steps are:
- Signing the loan agreement;
- Approval of programs in Parliament;
- Signing individual contracts (only for Romania) until May 31;
- Signing of joint procurement contracts (Romania and other member states) by the end of June (term that also depends on the ministries of the partner member states).
“We want the production of all the programs to start in the fall so that we can have them worked on until 2030. From the total of 16.6 billion euros, we estimate that more than 50% of the money will remain in Romania”, Mihai Jurca also declared.
The SAFE procurement plan: What Romania spends 16.6 billion euros on
At the end of January of this year, the government presented the programs that will benefit from SAFE military funding and that must be completed by 2030.
Approximately 9.6 billion will go to military procurement, while over 4 billion will go to the completion of the “Moldova” A7 and “Union” A8 highways to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, respectively.
Another 2.8 billion euros will be used for purchases for the MAI and the other institutions in the area of national safety and security
The SAFE (Security Action For Europe) program is a credit program with a total budget of 150 billion, designed by the European Union to strengthen the European defense industry and make the European defense system more solid, in the short term, until 2030.
“Romania has been allocated 16.6 billion euros, the second application in value from the total of those submitted. The respective amounts represent loans with very good interest, for the AAA category of states, Romania having the BBB category. It is a loan for a period of 45 years with a 10-year grace period, meaning that no installment payments will be made until 2035,” said Mihai Jurca, the head of the Government Chancellery.
Military purchases of 9.53 billion euros
The military procurement projects are 21 in number, with a total value of 9.53 billion euros – 10 programs are jointly procured with other states, and 11 are individual purchases by the Army.
As joint procurements, MApN presented the procurement program of anti-aircraft systems with Mistral missiles (625 million euros) bought with France and jointly with six other states. 12 H225 helicopters produced in France will also be jointly purchased, as well as 12 radar systems from the same country.
Other joint purchases will be made with Germany, anti-aircraft systems and air defense command systems.
