Thank you for your warm welcome here in Romania, and for the very impressive visit of the military port of Constanța and the MK airbase. You help keep Europe safe in the air and waters of the Black Sea. And more than ever, Romania is a key asset for European security and a key partner of NATO's Eastern flank.
Dear Nicușor,
It is a pleasure to be in Romania for the first time since your inauguration. Over the past months, Romania has shown the impressive resilience of its democracy and its institutions. You have successfully countered attempts of disinformation and manipulation. You are very strong ironclad and reliable supporters of Ukraine and Moldova. You resist intimidations that are usually part of Moscow's playbook, and this only makes your resilience stronger. And we know that we need a surge in defence investment, as you mentioned also the security situation. For that, there is the financing, which we now have. We have to work on the implementation of the financing, and of course we have to secure its long-term sustainability.
So first, for the financial support in the short term. Together, in the European Council, we have agreed an EUR 800 billion package until 2030, and one part of this package is the SAFE instrument. SAFE is an instrument of EUR 150 billion, and I am very glad that 19 countries subscribed to SAFE for joint procurement. This includes Romania, and this is great news. On the visit in the naval base - it was for me very interesting to see the first ideas for projects of the navy, for the potential use of the SAFE loans. SAFE is already now fully subscribed, and this is a big success. We can take the investment of SAFE for joint procurement, but we can also take it for military support for Ukraine, either in providing them with capabilities, or while investing in the Ukrainian defence industry.
The second element as I said is the implementation, of course. And for that we will develop a Roadmap that we will present in full to the European Council on how we see the capability gaps we have, how we intend to close them until 2030 – with targets, with milestones. Because we know that only what gets measured, gets done.
And the third element, is the sustainability of the investment in defence, and here our structural answer is to step up our defence via the proposal of the new European budget that will be in place in two years. We propose to triple funding for border security, we propose to increase the investment in defence by fivefold, and this includes, of course, maritime capabilities. And we propose a tenfold in investment in military mobility.
Mr President, dear Nicuşor,
Europe's solidarity extends beyond our own borders. And I want to share a thought for our dear friend and neighbour, Moldova. Last week was Moldova's Independence Day. We celebrated Moldova's democracy, the unbreakable spirit of its people and their love for freedom. Moldovans have chosen the democratic path, the European path. And we will stand by them, always.
A final word on Romania's efforts to return to lasting growth. You have worked hard to bring the deficit under control, you have advanced reforms, and you are modernising your economy. We welcome these efforts. Romania has everything it needs to set its economy on the right trajectory. Above all, you have the political will, which is the most important ingredient. Together, we are working to make the best use of the NextGenerationEU funds. And we will continue to coordinate closely to ensure a prosperous future for the Romanian people.
