Romania has taken a strong decision to support NATO’s plan for higher defense spending, even though the country is currently facing a serious budget crisis.
Romania Chooses NATO Commitment Over Budget Cuts
The newly elected leader has clearly stated that Romania will continue to stand with its European and NATO allies, especially in helping Ukraine and ensuring the country’s own safety.
This move comes after a period of political and economic uncertainty. The presidential election was canceled earlier due to fears of foreign interference, creating tension across the country. Still, the people chose a new leader who believes in keeping Romania on a pro-Western path and fully involved in the European Union and NATO.
The leader has promised to support NATO’s proposed new defense spending target of 3.5% of the country’s GDP. An extra 1.5% will be used for better infrastructure and stronger cybersecurity. This new goal has been suggested by NATO’s secretary-general and supported by key European countries.
The decision reflects Romania’s willingness to follow NATO’s direction, especially as some powerful NATO countries are calling for even higher defense spending. One such country has even suggested that NATO members spend up to 5% of their GDP to protect themselves if they want to keep receiving help and support from their allies.
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Romania’s new president confirmed his support for this larger goal and said the exact timeline for reaching it will be discussed with other NATO members. He added that Romania will “stay aligned” with its partners, showing that the country will not step away from its international promises, even during tough times.
Big Deficit Creates Big Challenges
While Romania is saying “yes” to more defense spending, the country is struggling with a high public budget deficit. The deficit reached 9.3% of GDP last year, which is the highest in the European Union. This means that Romania is spending much more money than it earns from taxes and other sources.
The European Commission has made a rule that money used for defense can be kept separate from regular budget rules. Still, the rest of the spending must be reduced to avoid punishment from the EU. If Romania does not cut back on its other expenses, the EU might take strict steps, like holding back funds and starting official actions against the country.
To prevent this, the new government plans to reduce the deficit to 7.5% of GDP this year. To do that, Romania will need to cut €6 billion from its expenses. The president believes this can be done and wants to take part in discussions about how to make these cuts.
Romania’s leader pointed to his past experience managing the budget of a large city, where he helped lower debt and improve the financial health of the local government. He believes this background can help him lead the national effort to fix the country’s economy without stepping back from international responsibilities.
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A new government is expected to be formed soon. One of its main jobs will be to appoint a strong prime minister who can lead the country through reforms and budget changes. The president has made it clear that he wants a serious and reliable prime minister, not someone who will play political games.
Political Stability Needed to Avoid More Trouble
The president wants to build a strong government with support from all four major political parties. Talks to create this coalition have already started, but it is not clear which parties will stay in the government and which ones might join the opposition. This choice is very important because a weak or divided government could make it harder to pass the needed reforms.
One of the biggest concerns is the growing support for far-right political groups. In the first round of the election, the far-right candidate received the most votes, causing Romania’s currency to fall in value and making it harder for the government to borrow money from international lenders. Credit agencies also warned that Romania’s rating is just one step above “junk” status, meaning that investors are very cautious.
The president said that the large number of people who voted for the far-right did so not because of political ideas, but because of real economic and social problems. Many citizens feel frustrated by broken promises, poor management, and corruption in past governments. He admitted that many promises made by the Romanian state were never fulfilled.
He also said that more must be done to explain what happened during the canceled election last year, which many believe was affected by outside interference. He believes the justice system should investigate this issue properly so that people understand the truth.
Romania is now in a delicate situation. It wants to stay strong with NATO and help Ukraine while also dealing with a weak economy and political divisions. The government has a lot of work ahead, but it has shown a clear choice to stick with its allies and fix its own problems at the same time.