Iohannis to call consultations with parties over funding Army 2 pct of GDP from 2017

Photo credit: (c) Alex MICSIK / AGERPRES PHOTO

President Klaus Iohannis announced on Tuesday he will call consultations with the parliamentary parties with a view to forging an agreement meant to provide 2 percent of gross domestic product to defence starting 2017 and keeping such goal for at least ten years.

Photo credit: (c) Alex MICSIK / AGERPRES PHOTO

'One of the priorities of my term-in-office for the period immediately ahead is to find solutions for increasing the defence budget. I will call consultations with the parliamentary parties with a view to forging a political agreement meant to provide a minimum 2 percent of GDP to defence. More than that, I propose all the political factors, both in government and in opposition to clearly pledge keeping this minimum goal for at least ten years, so that we might ensure the predictability of military spending particularly with respect to training and the strategic procurement programmes', Iohannis told a ceremony in which Lieutenant General Nicolae-Ionel Ciuca took up as the new Chief of Staff.

The president told those attending the event at the National Defence Ministry headquarters that he, alongside the other state decision-making factors and the foreign partners will do everything possible to find 'realistic solutions to assign the budget resources that should allow the fair funding of the military system'.

'I will not accept in the future that the government, no matter who heads it should not respect the pledged funding for the Army', the head of state stressed.

Attending the investiture ceremony were Prime Minister Victor Ponta, Vice Prime Minister Gabriel Oprea, Defence Minister Mircea Dusa, Senate Chairman Calin Popescu-Tariceanu and the Romanian Intelligence Service director George Maior.AGERPRES

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