Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced on Wednesday regarding the ‘Rearm Europe’ Plan that he agrees with the additional allocation of funds for armament, provided that the money is directed exclusively to plants in the Romanian defence industry.

‘The European Commission says Romania is right. Defence spending will not be included in the calculation of the budget deficit! I will respond to the letter from the President of the European Commission regarding the ‘Rearm Europe’ Plan, stating that I agree to allocate additional funds for armament, on condition that the money goes exclusively to plants in the Romanian defence industry. This way, we can hire more people and produce in three shifts! The plan announced yesterday in Brussels shows that Europe understands the urgency of increasing defence spending, excluding these amounts from the budget deficit calculation. This is exactly what Romania has been advocating for since the beginning of the war in Ukraine,’ wrote Ciolacu in a Facebook post.

The prime minister added that the creation of a European loan instrument worth 150 billion euros for investments in defence and supporting private capital will help open new production units in Romania.

‘Therefore, we remain on the same coordinates as before: yes to increasing defence spending, no to sending Romanian troops to Ukraine,’ Marcel Ciolacu conveyed.