The Romanian Chamber of Deputies voted on Tuesday, both swiftly and in an urgent procedure, at the Government’s request, on the project regarding the acquisition of 32 F-35 aircraft from the US.
The project then went to the Senate, which approved it just as quickly on Wednesday, as the decision-making body. So now the law goes for promulgation, unless it is challenged at the Constitutional Court.
The contract for the acquisition of 32 F35 aircraft will be signed on November 21.
So, it was urgent to vote swiftly, although the project had been lying around somewhere after being approved by the Supreme Council for National Defense (CSAT) and the Government. It barely made it through both chambers, which convened in a hybrid regime, as it is an organic law and required the vote of 51% plus 1 of the total number of parliamentarians to be adopted.
The first multirole F-35 aircraft are estimated to actually arrive in 2030, says the interim president of the Defense Commission, Sorin Moldovan.
The F-35 has only just landed in Parliament now, because it took off too late from Cotroceni, accuses Vice President of the Defense Commission, Bogdan Rodeanu.
"Why did the F-35 only land this afternoon, November 12, in Parliament? Simple: because it took off too late from Cotroceni (the Presidencial palace)! Even though the Supreme Council for National Defense endorsed the Army's equipping program with F-35 on November 6, and the Government approved the bill on November 7, it was only transmitted to Parliament this afternoon, unannounced and unexpected, after all scheduled parliamentary procedures were completed," wrote Bogdan Rodeanu last night on Facebook.