Romania buys millions of dollars worth of weapons from the US under a special programme

In a statement, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) announced that, at its meeting on Tuesday evening, the Romanian government had decided to join the programme, like most of its European allies, and support Ukraine's armament with €50 million. The statement emphasised that this support is within the budgetary framework.

The MAE reminded that

the objective of the PURL programme is to purchase American weapons for Ukraine,

enabling NATO member states in Europe to contribute financially to the delivery of these weapons to the war-torn country.

They emphasised that financial contributions to the programme, created at the initiative of the United States, would strengthen Ukraine's defence capabilities and help establish lasting peace. At the same time, they said, it contributes to regional security and is in line with Romania's obligations under its NATO membership and strategic partnership with the United States.

The Foreign Ministry has reminded allies of the 'historic commitment' they made at this year's NATO summit in The Hague to gradually increase defence spending to 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) over the next ten years.

In line with this commitment, Romania is increasing its defence spending while also drawing down €16.6 billion under the EU's SAFE programme to bolster its defence capabilities, according to a statement from the Romanian Foreign Ministry.

In 2022, Romania spent 1.75% of its GDP on military purposes, which went down to 1.60% in 2023 and grew to 2.30% in 2024, according to data by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Save for a few years, Romania's military spending as a percentage of GDP has always been higher than that of Hungary since 1980.

Military expenditure as a percentage of government spending was 5.85% in Romania last year, exceeding Hungary's 4.43%.

Romania has been ahead of Hungary in this respect throughout the past 30 years.

Cover image (for illustration purposes only): Reuters