|
RRI newsletter subcription
(e-mail address):
|
 |
Archives:
|
|
| THE DEFENSE MINSTRY ASKS FOR MORE MONEY TO MODERNISE THE ARMY (10.08.07) |
| (2007-08-10) |
| Last updated: 2007-08-13 15:19 EET |
To continue the reform of the Romanian army in order to bring it in line with NATO standards is one of the main objectives of the National Defense Ministry, defense minister Teodor Melescanu said 100 days after he took office. According to Melescanu, the entire army should reach the same level of equipment and training as the units which are now involved in international missions. Teodor Melescanu:
“First of all, our goal is to have a 90 thousand strong army, of which 75 thousand military and 15 thousand civilians; also, overstaffed central structures should be cut in favor of the fighting units; we reject the idea and personally I am totally against having a two speed army, namely, on the one hand, several operational units fully meeting NATO requirements and able to be swiftly deployed in theatres of operations around the world and one the other hand, so to say second hand military units, with a lower level of training and less sophisticated equipment. Also among our targets is to secure a NATO type structure of the army, that is a 1 to 3 ratio between officers and non commissioned officers and a ratio of 1 general to 1000 military"
The immediate problem minister Teodor Melescanu wants to solve is the army budget for next year. According to the current budget draft, the defense budget is below 2.38 per cent of the GDP, although this figure, stipulated in the governing program, is the one Romania, as a NATO member state had pledged to allot to this field in 2008 . The defense minister said he had already started consultations with the finance ministry; if no understanding is reached, the prime minister has offered to take the stance of a mediator between the two ministries led by two liberals, the liberal party being headed by the prime minister himself.
We asked analyst Bogdan Chireac if the army has any chance to get more money:
“Taking into account Romania’s current economic situation and the decisions already made this summer on the pensions rise, as well as other decisions related to the continuous election campaign running for one and a half year, even for two years now, and if we add the presidential election due in the autumn of 2009, I do have serious doubts that the army might get that percentage of the GDP. There’s simply not enough money."
There hasn’t been money so far either. How then was it possible to meet the NATO commitments we have had so far ? Bogdan Chireac again:
"The NATO commitments have been and are being met in a remarkable way by a poor country like Romania now, in comparison with other NATO member countries. There are much richer NATO member countries which are far behind Romania in terms of commitments met, I have in mind, in the first place, the operations in Afghanistan which are under NATO auspices and in which Romania is participating with military units in an absolutely exemplary way"
|
|
| |
WMA |
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
128kbps : |
1
2
3
|
| |
MP3 |
|
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
128kbps : |
1
2
3
|
| |
AAC+ |
|
|
48kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
 Historical mascot of
RRI |
| |
© 1999 - 2011 Copyright Radio Romania International |
|
2025-04-03
Print
Listen again