US Plans to Upgrade Military Bases in Romania, Bulgaria

The United States Army is set to invest almost $27 million in Romania and Bulgaria in 2019, according to the record $717 million defence budget signed on Tuesday by President Donald Trump.

The budget envisages that US troops "continue rotational deployments to Romania and Bulgaria while taking full advantage of the training opportunities available at military locations such as Camp Mihail Kogalniceanu in Romania and Novo Selo Training Area in Bulgaria".

It pledges more support and security cooperation with the two countries, as well as with Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.

In Bulgaria, the US Army is scheduled to invest $5.2 million in modernisation and construction at the Novo Selo Training Range, 70 kilometres from the Black Sea resort of Burgas.

The Novo Selo Training Area is among the joint US-Bulgarian military bases established according to the 2006 Defence Cooperation Agreement between the two countries.

The US Army started in 2008 with a $61.15 million investment programme meant to develop new housing and other infrastructure for the American troops training at Novo Selo.

For improving Romania's Mihail Kogalniceanu base and airport, located in the vicinity of Black Sea port of Constanta, the US Army intends to spend $21.6 million in 2019.

However, for the fiscal year 2019 the Pentagon also received $6.5 billion for its European Deterrence Initiative (EDI), a programme that began in 2016 and is intended to reassure Eastern European allies and deter Russia from further incursion into Europe following its annexation of Crimea.

In June 2017, the US Army announced that it would spend up to $60 million through the EDI in upgrading the military base and airport in Mihail Kogalniceanu...