Angel Tîlvăr’s participation in the FAC Ministerial Meeting

On Tuesday, May 20, Minister of National Defence, Angel Tîlvăr, participated, in Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium, in the European Union Council for Foreign Affairs in the defence ministers format.

The talks in the session dedicated to improving the level of defence readiness aimed at implementing the priority guidelines highlighted in the White Paper on European Defence - Readiness 2030 in terms of eliminating military capability deficits, in order to prepare for the discussions in the European Council, scheduled to take place on June 26-27. At the same time, an important topic on the agenda of this session was the Defence Omnibus Simplification Package, which is to be published by the European Commission, by the end of June.

In his speech, the Minister of National Defence emphasized Romania's intention to capitalize on the instruments made available through the Readiness 2030 Plan in order to strengthen the defence posture. The official also indicated the priority areas at national level in terms of concrete capability development projects envisaged for collaborative actions.

"It is important to share a common vision to effectively meet to the defence requirements at European level. I reaffirm Romania's commitment to strengthening the European industrial and technological base and express our support for capitalizing on European initiatives in the field of defence, including the SAFE instrument, by involving the national defence industry," the Minister of National Defence said during the talks.

The defence ministers also discussed the continued support for Ukraine.

* * * 

The Readiness 2030 Plan reinforces the need for Member States to invest both together and individually in their own defence capabilities, better and more efficiently. This objective is achieved through the five pillars of financial support for increased defence spending: (1) guaranteed loans from the EU budget of up to 150 billion Euros – the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) instrument; (2) the coordinated activation of the national escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact; (3) making existing EU instruments more flexible to allow for greater defence investment; (4) strengthening the contribution of the European Investment Bank by limiting restrictions on defence projects; (5) mobilizing private capital.

The SAFE instrument represents a collaboration opportunity for the Member States to benefit from loans guaranteed by the EU budget for joint defence projects, amounting up to 150 billion Euros. The SAFE instrument emphasizes the major involvement of the European defence industry, including in partnership with other third countries such as Ukraine, in the development, manufacture and integration of military equipment, with a minimum of 65% components manufactured in the European Union.

The Press Office