Romania made the first payment for the Patriot missile system on Thursday, December 14, defense minister Mihai Fifor said.

“The Romanian Army doesn’t do shopping with budget money. We are trying to bring as much money as possible into the local defense industry and relaunch it. With this money, we want to make a technology transfer through industrial cooperation with large, recognized defense firms,” the minister added, reports local News.ro.

The Defense Ministry’s budget for next year was approved on Thursday in the Parliament’s budget-finance committees, with six amendments rejected. The ministry will have a budget of RON 18.1 billion (EUR 3.9 billion) in 2018, up 11.3% over 2017. This represents 2% of the country’s GDP. Romania thus respects the commitment made in relation with NATO.

Romanian President signs law on Patriot missile purchase from US

editor@romania-insider.com