Minister of Finance: Romania supports boost of EU's defence capacity, budgetary consolidation remains priority

 Romania supports the boosting of the European Union's defence capacity and, at the same time, budgetary consolidation remains a priority, along with increasing competitiveness through de-bureaucratization and investments in every economic sector, says Deputy Prime Minister Tanczos Barna, Minister of Finance.European Union finance ministers met on March 10-11 in Brussels for further discussions on defence financing solutions, on the sidelines of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) and the Eurogroup in enlarged format (EU27), where Romania was represented by Tanczos Barna.According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Finance, following the conclusions on defence financing of the March 6 European Council, EU finance ministers agreed to support common solutions, with works on this issue set to continue at an accelerated pace, once the European Commission presents concrete proposals. The "Rearming Europe" package, advanced by the Commission and supported by leaders in the European Council, includes, among other things, a new financial instrument through which Member States can access guaranteed loans from the EU budget worth up to EUR 150 billion, as well as a more flexible fiscal treatment of defence spending in the Stability and Growth Pact."The European Union needs an increased defence capability, and solutions for increased defence spending must take into account the need to ensure greater predictability for the European military industry through a more efficient mobilization of private and public investment. We support a European financing solution, with the use of guarantees from the EU budget, in order to ensure the best possible financing conditions, with a reduced impact on national budgets. At the same time, budgetary consolidation remains a priority for Romania. We continue to build motorways and hospitals, develop local communities and support business, for which we have allocated record funds this year. At European level, increasing competitiveness must also be supported by reducing administrative burdens for companies, and Romania supports the swift implementation of the Commission's proposals in this regard," the Finance Minister said in the press release.At the ECOFIN meeting, ministers exchanged views on a set of "Omnibus proposals" aimed at simplifying various pieces of legislation, with the aim of helping to reduce administrative burdens by at least 25% and by at least 35% for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)."Romania supports the need to simplify the tax regulatory framework for the benefit of businesses, including by reducing reporting burdens and eliminating overlapping provisions. Simplifying the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is essential for carbon-intensive sectors. The proposal also supported by Romania aims to exempt small importers (less than 50 tonnes per year) in the cement, fertilizers, electricity, aluminum, iron and steel sectors from the scope. Thus, 90% of importers, especially SMEs and individuals, are exempted, while reporting procedures are simplified for large importers, who are responsible for 99% of emissions. These measures should lead to maintaining competitiveness in this sector," emphasized Tanczos Barna.The current state of the impact of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the adoption of revised recovery and resilience plans by Ireland and Belgium, and a briefing on the G20 meetings completed the agenda of the ECOFIN meeting.