Bolojan: Romania's proposals for SAFE Program, developed by mid-October

 Romania's proposals for the SAFE Program, based on which our country will benefit from a credit of 16.6 billion euros, will be developed by mid-October, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan declared on Wednesday.The proposals are to be submitted to the European Commission for approval in November, the Prime Minister said in a press conference held at Victoria Palace.On Monday, the Prime Minister paid a visit to Brussels, where he met with the European Commissioner for Defense and Space, Andrius Kubilius."The European Commission has approved an allocation from the SAFE Program for Romania, therefore an additional credit, of 16.6 billion euros. Of this allocation, the largest part, 12.5 billion, is direct defense spending, and a little over 4 billion represents allocations for the transport sector, for the mixed civil and military mobility component. We discussed with the European Commissioner and the technical team all the details related to this program so that, by mid-October, we would have a first list of projects that would be part of Romania's proposals," explained Bolojan.The proposals will be presented to the CSAT, and at the end of November the list will be submitted to the European Commission for final approval.Ilie Bolojan claimed that the money obtained through the SAFE Program will have "major effects" in the fields of defense and transport infrastructure, but also in terms of the deficit."Romania has committed to having defense spending that will not fall below 2.2% of GDP. Of this amount, an important share, almost 1%, is dedicated to military acquisitions. This 1% share, in the next five years, will be covered by this SAFE Program, which means that we have the guarantee that Romania's programs, absolutely necessary for defense, have constant financing and budgets assured in the coming years," the prime minister mentioned.He pointed out that, although it is a loan, it has interest rates "four times lower" than those at which Romania currently borrows. There is also a ten-year grace period, and the loan would be repaid in 40 years.Over 4 billion euros would be allocated for transport projects, such as highway terminals from Moldova. Bolojan stressed that he will do everything possible to keep these projects on schedule."It is about the Pascani - Suceava - Siret section, which would connect the two northern counties to the capital of our country directly. Also, the very important section that connects Iasi and the Republic of Moldova directly with the highway. It is about the Pascani - Iasi - Ungheni section. The two projects are valued at over 3 billion euros and represent the largest part of this proposal. Without their maintenance in the SAFE Program, we would not have had the funding to start these works in the next 2-3 years," the Prime Minister added.