EconMin says concerned to draw SAFE Programme funds in advantageous conditions

Economy Minister Radu Miruta on Friday said that he is focused on ensuring that Romania uses, under advantageous conditions, the entire amount of funding available through the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme.Details about the funding proposals under SAFE are classified, he mentioned, after participating in the Aspen European Strategic Forum, which is taking place at the Palace of Parliament.'All I can tell you is that we have a very functional collaboration with the Ministry of Defence. We have received the list of priorities from the Ministry of Defence, and we are examining how we can serve this list of priorities within Romania. The concern is to draw the full amount of funds available through SAFE for the defence sector. However, I shall be very frank: I won't be satisfied merely because the funding was drawn. My concern is that there are advantageous conditions. In recent years, we have seen headlines in Romania about investors opening plants only to leave five years later, bankrupting the operation and disregarding Romania's contribution,' the minister explained.According to him, the conditions under which an investor comes to Romania must be fair.'At the Ministry of Economy, I've seen entire series of contracts that were made to Romania's disadvantage (...) I'm talking both about defence and in general - it seems to be a widespread issue. Contracts initially worth 675,000 euro ended up costing several million. Where does the difference go, and for whose benefit?,' Miruta commented.He mentioned the initial contract with Rheinmetall for the gunpowder factory Pirochim in Victoria as an example: 'There were some conditions that we were told couldn't be changed. We went through them one by one, changed them, and in the end, just from these changes alone - quantifiable, specifically - it's 92 million euro more for Romania. Who had accepted a 92 million euro disadvantage for Romania? The news that Rheinmetall was coming to Romania was the same - only with 92 million euro less. So yes, we'll draw the full amount (through SAFE), but under fair commercial conditions,' said Radu Miruta.Romania is set to benefit from 16.68 billion euro in funding through the European SAFE mechanism, according to provisional allocations announced by the European Commission for member states that expressed interest in the programme.According to a Government statement, participation in the SAFE programme has three major implications, and the amount allocated to Romania is the second largest among those announced by the Commission on Tuesday.