Romania - NATO Meeting on Defence Capabilities over 2017 2018 takes place on 6th and 7th February in Bucharest.

The agenda of the two-day event includes the extent to which NATO political goals, level of ambition and associated capability targets have been met and the directions will be outlined for the next defence planning cycle.

The expert consultations take into account medium to long-term plans, multiannual budget allocations and the way commitments are fulfilled. The findings of this examination will be approved by NATO defence ministers at their June meeting.

Romania stays committed to developing the capabilities required by the Alliance to carry out all missions, in line with NATO's level of ambition, thus meeting both national security requirements and those specific to the regional and Euro-Atlantic level. The budget allotted to the Ministry of National Defence for 2018 represents two percent of the GDP while the funds for major equipment procurement account for some 35 percent of the total budget, well above the 20 percent recommended by NATO. Among this year's procurement priorities are the HIMARS long-range rocket launching system, the second PATRIOT system, the multi-purpose corvette and the anti-ship mobile missile launcher, the funding of which is ensured.

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Romania is represented at the meeting by experts of the Defence Policy, Planning and International Relations Department, of the Defence General Staff, the force categories and the support commands, with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The end of the event will be marked by a bilateral meeting of the Secretary of State for Defence Policy, Planning and International Relations, Mircea Dusa and Director of NATO Defence Planning, Defence Policy and Planning Division, Paul Savereux.

The Press Office