Defense Minister Ionuț Moșteanu strongly opposes the proposal to cut defense sector salary expenses by 10%, stating that, although the initial coalition agreement excluded the Army from these measures, the latest discussions indicate an intention to implement cuts „everywhere.”
At the same time, the minister announced that on Wednesday, the coalition will conclude discussions on magistrates’ pensions, mentioning that their initial demands were deemed „unacceptable.”
"Totally inappropriate to touch upon military motivation now"
"I opposed this idea (of cutting Army salary expenses - ed.). There are discussions related to reducing salary expenses in the public sector. The understanding two to three weeks ago was that the national defense system would be exempt from these measures, considering the realities we face, we are at war on the border, drones explode near us every week, all the countries around us are investing in defense, we committed to investing more, up to 5% of GDP," Moșteanu stated on Tuesday at Parliament.
The minister clarified that the agreement to exempt the Army was not supported by written guarantees but was a political understanding.
"Yesterday, discussions somehow shifted towards the idea of cutting 10% of salary expenses everywhere, and I do not agree with that in Defense," emphasized Ionuț Moșteanu, adding that it is "totally inappropriate, to use a diplomatic term, to touch upon military motivation now."
"Let's do it with a scalpel, not an axe"
Ionuț Moșteanu argued that, in the current security context, with a war on the border, Romania needs to increase its defense budget from the current 2.3% of GDP to 5% of GDP by 2035.
"We cannot talk about cuts in defense at this moment, when drones are falling every week, you saw near Dobrogea, and we have many, many challenges. We can optimize expenses, I agree, we can optimize in certain areas, but let's do it with a scalpel, not an axe in this case," pleaded the minister, as cited by Agerpres.
He explained that cutting personnel expenses would affect not only salaries but also the recruitment of professional soldiers and equipment programs. He also stressed that expenses for ongoing equipment programs cannot be reduced either.
"We have ongoing equipment programs, there are installments that need to be paid for ongoing programs, there are new programs that need to be started, the SAFE program is coming. Maybe some optimizations, for example, in the investment part, maybe we don't renovate certain barracks next year, we renovate them in two or three years, we patch them up here and there," the minister explained.
Discussions on magistrates' pensions nearing conclusion
In addition to the topic of Army expenses, Ionuț Moșteanu confirmed that a final decision will be made on Wednesday within the coalition regarding the package of measures, including the issue of magistrates' pensions.
"We agreed last night that by the end of the day, by tomorrow, we will have a solution agreed upon by all partners in the coalition, and we will proceed with it. [...] They wanted much more in that discussion last week, they came: let's discuss, but they wanted much more. In my opinion and that of my colleagues, what they asked for is unacceptable, and we will see if we can meet at a common ground," stated Moșteanu, expressing hope that coalition leaders will reach a common solution.