Minister Dincu about corvette contract: We will probably make final decision by end April

Defense minister Vasile Dincu declared on Tuesday, at Kogalniceanu Air Base 57 that the supply contract “Multifunctional corvette” would be probably signed by the end of April.   Dincu said that a few minor things are still to be negotiated now within the Naval Group Association and Constanta Shipyard and Romtehnica is not blocking negotiations in any way.   “Referring to the corvette contract, it is a legal supply procedure through tender and we are now crossing the last negotiation aspects. We are expecting an answer from the association between Naval Group and Constanta Shipyard, there are a few minor aspects to be negotiated within the association and in relation with Romtehnica. The latter is not blocking any negotiations, it can but observe the law and obligations the two association partners agreed on since the beginning, when they entered the competition. Perhaps the end of April is the moment when we can make a final decision,”Dincu answered when asked by the press about the fact that signing the contract was being delayed.   Referring to how vulnerable NATO countries in the Black Sea are in front of a sea attack, in the context when Turkey closed down the Bosphorus for military ships because of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the defense minister said that NATO had answers for all possible scenarios.   “NATO has answers ready for all possible scenarios referring to the Black Sea situation, at the present moment. Obviously it is a collective answer that NATO countries have prepared, a collective scenario. No question for a country having to defense itself all alone,” Dincu added.   The Defense Ministry informed, at the end of 2021, that the specific purchase procedure for the product “Multifunctional corvette”was completed in 2019 by declaring the association made of the Naval Group of France and Constanta Shipyard Company, the winning economic operator. In that respect, the Defense Ministry expressed its availability to sign the contractual documents. According to the national legal frame, the two parties carry out together activities needed to agree to the final forms of contract documents.