Rivers of money and investments will flow into Romania in the coming years, and in just a few weeks and months, employees from the public administration and private sector will engage in a contracting process for the largest funding flows in the country’s recent history, beyond the period of 2020-2021 when the start of the PNRR led to massive over-contracting – 47 billion euros compared to the initial allocation of 27 billion.
Currently, the total amount of commitments already assumed or in the process of finalization exceeds 25 billion euros solely from publicly identifiable sources – military equipment, energy, infrastructure, critical mineral resources.
Each contract involves, even in these months, signatures, award decisions, choosing suppliers and subcontractors, relationships between public and private entities, negotiations about who produces what and where, and so on, while the extremely tight schedule gives a new meaning to the political crisis.
RIVER I - SAFE: 16.68 billion euros for the Army's equipment, contracts to be signed by May 31
SAFE is the largest military procurement program in Romania's history - and the second largest national allocation within the European SAFE program, after Poland - received the green light on Tuesday, April 28, in the parliamentary specialized committees. Besides the obvious stake (Army equipment and over 4 billion euros that will go towards completing the Moldova Highway), another stake is the fact that, unlike past acquisitions, the SAFE program imposes a mandatory minimum localization requirement for production in Romania. This means that 50% of the funds will be invested in the national defense industry.
The approved projects from SAFE target land, naval, and air capabilities, with very short deadlines for signing contracts: by May 31, 2026.
- Infantry fighting vehicle (tracked): 298 units - 3.33 billion € (most costly project);
- Piranha 5 armored personnel carrier: 359 units - 2.17 billion €;
- Multifunctional auto transport platforms: 1,115 units - €344.40 million;
- SKYNEX artillery system (C-UAS and CRAM): 7 systems - €476 million;
- Loitering munitions strike systems: 70 systems - €147 million;
- Multi-mission helicopters: 12 units - €852 million;
- SBAMD (L) land-to-air missile system: 3 systems - €547.83 million;
- Skyranger35 system (VSR - CUAS): 2 systems - €470 million;
- Gap Filler radars: 12 systems - €258 million;
- Maritime patrol vessels (OPV): 2 vessels - €836 million;
- Naval Strike Missile Launch System: 7 systems - €207 million;
- Intervention boats for divers: 2 vessels - €84 million.
The main industrial beneficiaries publicly identified by the Minister of Defense are: Cugir Arms Factory (new assault rifle), Sadu Military Plant (ammunition), 2 Mai Mangalia Shipyard (contingent upon saving the shipyard - for the 2 OPV vessels).
It is worth noting that Parliament has also imposed a control mechanism here: three months after signing the contracts, the MoD and the Prime Minister's Office must present detailed reports on the status of localization and penalties applied to suppliers who do not comply with the production clauses in Romania.
Note: It is worth mentioning the case of former Defense Minister Ionuț Moșteanu, who was supposed to receive 1 million euros in bribes from a group of businessmen who wanted to do business with ammunition from the ex-Soviet space. Octavian Berceanu, former head of the Environmental Guard, close to USR, was chosen by the group as an "intermediary," but he filed a complaint and recorded the "negotiations" with the business group, which used him as a liaison with Ovidiu Isăilă, a former PDL/PSD/UNPR/PRU parliamentarian. Berceanu said he was offered 10 million euros.
RIVER II - USA: 500 million euros for Transgaz and the Vertical Gas Corridor, 1 billion euros for Reactor 1 at Cernavodă
In mid-April, an extended government delegation - Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare, Energy Minister Bogdan Ivan, Health Minister, Minister of European Funds - traveled to Washington for the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank, but also for direct meetings with structures of the American administration: Department of Energy (US Secretary Chris Wright), Department of Commerce (three deputy secretaries - the first meeting of this level), DFC (Development Finance Corporation), and US Exim Bank.
Following the trip, Romania agreed to fundings of 2 billion euros, with the visit aiming to accelerate strategic energy projects and attract financing.
One of the results was the granting of $500 million in funding from the World Bank for the modernization of the natural gas transportation network of Transgaz, a vital element of the Vertical Gas Corridor, which brings American LNG, unloaded in Greece, to Central and Eastern Europe through Bulgaria and Romania. The agreement involves a tripartite contract between the World Bank, the Ministry of Finance, and Transgaz. The second result was an allocation of 1 billion euros for the retooling of Reactor 1 at Cernavodă, with World Bank financing. Separately, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) also confirmed its participation with approximately 400 million euros in the retooling of Reactor 1 at Cernavodă.
In addition to the Transgaz and Cernavodă funding, the Romanian delegation's visit to Washington brought several financial commitments. The World Bank confirmed its willingness to provide a $650 million Development Policy Loan (DPL) loan, correlated with fiscal consolidation objectives, as announced by the Finance Minister. A second pillar of the same DPL instrument targets access to financing for SMEs, mobilizing non-bank financing, and decarbonizing the energy sector.
According to the Finance Ministry, another 90 million euros will be available through financial instruments of the World Bank Group to manage the effects of current energy challenges, including through the Crisis Emergency Response Program (CERP), activatable in energy crisis situations.
Vertical Gas Corridor
Another thread with a major long-term strategic impact is precisely the Vertical Corridor - the infrastructure that can already bring American liquefied natural gas from terminals in Greece to Central and Eastern Europe, crossing Bulgaria and Romania.
There is American interest here in increasing transport capacity, and investments in transport networks and interconnections along this corridor are a topic of discussion, including at the Three Seas Summit held on April 28 and 29 in Dubrovnik, Croatia, with the participation of the US energy minister.
On Wednesday, April 29, Romanian President Nicușor Dan explained, on the sidelines of the Three Seas Initiative Summit, Romania's and the US's interest in this project.
"Regarding the gas corridor, this is a politico-economic issue. It is in the interest of all of us to decouple from gas supply from Russia, it is in the interest of the Americans to enter the European market with LNG, for Americans to enter the European market with LNG, substantial investments are needed in ports in Greece, in the south of this corridor, and the question is whether there are enough buyers in the region, I am talking about all countries in the region - Moldova, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria - if the demand for purchase is large enough to justify this investment. (...) We want to have an American presence in Romania, we want this economic configuration to be favorable to Romania. This can mean gas transit through Transgaz networks and a gain from transit taxes, it can mean many things. (...) In a week, in Yerevan, there is the Summit of the European Political Community, and on the sidelines of this summit, Romania initiated a discussion with all these countries about the exact figures of this potential business. If we all, together, have a sufficiently large gas demand to justify an American investment," explained President Nicușor Dan.
Read the full analysis The stake of the political crisis before the 2027 rotation: The billions that will flow into Romania in the coming years and are currently being negotiated: military equipment, energy, American gas, critical minerals, and the cherry on top, Anghel Saligny on Curs de Guvernare