Sorin Cimpeanu, the nominee for defence minister, received on Monday a favourable opinion from the parliamentary defence committees.

There were 19 votes in favour, 12 against and one abstention.

The Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) MPs left the sitting before the vote.

'It would have been much easier for me if it had been an area in which I worked, but I want to make some clarifications regarding education. I was a university student for four years. Lately I have dedicated myself very much to international cooperation activities and I believe that these two things are also necessary in the defence system, both education and international cooperation. I am glad to have supported the defence system in my first term as minister of education by setting up two military high schools, in 2014 and 2015, in Craiova and Constanta. In the last term as minister of education I had a modest contribution by selecting the importance of the development of these high schools, we increased the number of schools,' Cimpeanu said.

He added that the priorities are the completion this year of the drafts related to the Army's White Paper, the Defence Law and the Statutes of Military Personnel.

'The amendment of the Defence Law, dating back from 1994, passed the Chamber of Deputies and (...) I am convinced that we will have together the necessary wisdom to give it the best shape in the Romanian Senate, this autumn, so that it can be promulgated after 32 years. The statutes of military personnel are from 1995, since 1995 the whole society has changed, it is another document that we must focus on together. And I cannot fail to refer to the importance of the Army's White Paper, a document that should have been ready a long time ago, but which together, if we will have a minimum of goodwill and we will grant each other the presumption of honesty and goodwill, I think can be finalised in 2026.'

Asked after the hearing what qualifies him for the position of defence minister, Cimpeanu said: 'The defence minister is a manager and for more than 15 years I have been a manager and authorising officer of credits, at the tertiary level or at the governmental level, and the fact that for a short period of time I was also deputy prime minister for national defence, It's true, two weeks maximum, in 2015.'

'At the same time, I said that I am very proud to have contributed to the establishment of the two military high schools in Constanta and Craiova, that I have increased the schooling capacity, that I have supported the military universities. It is not enough, but there are important things, which must restore the attractiveness of the military career, which should restore due respect to the Romanian Army, which should restore the due importance that the Army in general, all the more so in a period marked by conflicts in the international environment and threats.'

He specified, in response to a question, that he was not a conscript.

'Under the changes of 1989, army conscription could be postponed to after university graduation. I was in the fourth year of university. My current rank is soldier, if that is your next question,' Cimpeanu said. AGERPRES (RO - editing by: Alina Novaceanu; EN - writing by: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu)

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