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PM Bolojan estimates 2026 defence budget will stand around 2.3pct of GDP
Prime minister Ilie Bolojan estimates that in 2026 the budget for defence will be around 2.3% of the GDP, but that in the following years there will probably be a gradual increase.
"According to the commitments we have made, there will be a gradual increase in the defence budget. I think that next year we will be somewhere close to what it was this year, 2.3% of the GDP. (...) But it will very likely be a gradual increase. Here, again, there is a problem of economic affordability, but this credit that we will contract for defence allows us to replace the amounts that we allocate to defence from the much more expensive credits that we take today or from citizens' taxes. And in this way, the constancy of this budget and a slight, upward increase in the following years are basically guaranteed," the prime minister told Euronews on Thursday.
Bolojan stated that NATO membership represents "a vital element" for Romania's security, but that our country must create its own defence capabilities.
"The fact that we are in the North Atlantic Alliance is a vital element for Romania's security, but, in addition to this, we must create our own defence capabilities, in such a way that, considering the dynamics of the war, the emergence of drones and everything that the experiments that took place in the war in Ukraine mean, we adapt our defence technology to the new realities. And, through the acquisitions that will be made in the coming period, including through this credit from the SAFE programme, Romania must strengthen its defence alongside all the countries on the Eastern flank. And we are doing this constantly, and collaboration with European allies, with the United States, is a basic element of this defence," the head of government also stated.