The need for Romania to take out the loan through the 'Security Action for Europe' (SAFE) instrument was clear, despite the public debate surrounding the issue, Interim Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said.

'Despite the discussions that have emerged in the public sphere, I believe the need for Romania to take out this loan was clear, partly because it is being secured on much better market terms than those available to Romania under normal circumstances. In the coming years, we could not have avoided maintaining defence spending at a reasonable level,' Bolojan told Euronews Romania private television station.

He underscored that most of the contracts under SAFE have already been signed, adding that an initial stage ran until the end of May, while contracts relating to direct cooperation between states are now being finalised and will be signed in the coming days.

'One of the conditions attached to these contracts was that a significant share of production should take place in Romania, meaning that manufacturing will be localised in Romania and the fact that major factories in the state-owned defence industry, which are part of Romarm, are joining these projects, that other private Romanian companies are entering these partnerships, and that major investors will in turn acquire factories or build new facilities in Romania from scratch, will result in a transfer of technology and we will see at least half of these capabilities produced in Romania. This was an important condition and, admittedly, it is something that has not happened before, but the coming years will validate what I am saying today,' the interim Prime Minister conveyed.

Asked about claims that contracts awarded through SAFE would favour certain countries, such as Germany, at the expense of the United States, the interim Prime Minister explained that the programme is aimed at strengthening Europe's defence capabilities.

'As its name suggests, it is a defence programme which seeks to strengthen Europe's ability to defend itself, so it concerns companies that manufacture weapons in Europe or localise their production in Europe. That was the key requirement, meaning this issue was not whether to purchase weapons from European or non-European countries, it was simply the basic condition of the programme,' Bolojan added.

He said he agreed with the United States' call for European countries to increase their defence contributions, noting that Romania is doing so.

'Whether we like it or not, and regardless of the debates taking place in the public sphere, both Europe and Romania must contribute more to ensuring their own security because the United States, as you know, has rightly called for higher defence spending, taking into account that it can no longer bear this burden alone in light of the problems it faces globally. It is the right direction and Romania has acted accordingly,' the interim Prime Minister mentioned. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Alina Novaceanu; EN - writing by: Rodica State)

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