More than half of the money from the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument will remain in Romania, representing a much cheaper capital injection than any other, the interim Minister of Economy, Digitalisation, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Irineu Darau, told Digi 24 private television broadcaster on Sunday.

'More than half of the amount will certainly remain directly in Romania. (...) I am very comfortable saying today that if we look at the SAFE project as a whole, over 50% of the production will effectively take place directly in Romania. In other words, half of this money is clearly being invested directly on Romanian territory,' Darau stressed.

Asked why not all the money allocated to Romania through the SAFE programme would remain in the country, the minister said that 'we cannot produce everything in Romania today, or even within four and a half years because, after 35 years of underdevelopment in the defence industry, we lack certain capabilities.'

He also mentioned in this context that the funds coming from SAFE would be used for various projects involving dual education, the creation of new specialist jobs, employee training, technology transfers and licence transfers.

'We have envisaged a realistic trajectory so that by 2030 we will have a reindustrialised defence sector in Romania,' the Economy Minister underlined.

According to him, experts in the defence sector, together with the National Defence Industry Directorate within the ministry, analysed how much of each component could be produced in Romania. Darau specified that the contracts concluded, as well as the documents approved by the CSAT and the parliamentary defence committees, stipulate that Romania is not 'an assembly country.'

'I am convinced that SAFE, across the board, will generate prosperity and demand for more and more industries, perhaps automotive for example, which will mean new jobs, new technological developments and long-term impact,' the minister explained.

He believes that through SAFE there are enormous opportunities for more partnerships with state-owned companies, allowing them to be rescued from insolvency or modernised and developed using new technologies.

'Four ships will be built and I hope they will be built at the Mangalia shipyard. Nearly 300 tanks are being purchased and there will also be drone acquisitions...' Darau added regarding the SAFE programme.

He stressed that SAFE represents 'a much cheaper capital injection than any other kind of capital injection', being an instrument with 3% interest, a ten-year grace period and a 45-year repayment period.

'Some have suggested that we do not need this money or that we are throwing it out of the window on purchases from abroad. First of all, SAFE is an instrument with 3% interest compared with Romania's 7%. That 3% is only possible because all European Union countries have pooled their risk together and countries with much lower risk have effectively guaranteed Romania as well, with a ten-year grace period and a 45-year repayment period. If we make a simple calculation, over four years SAFE effectively means around 1% of GDP annually. Compared with borrowing at 7%, we have 3% and repayment much later. Therefore, it is a much cheaper capital injection than any other kind of capital injection,' the Economy Minister pointed out.

Romania will benefit from EUR 16.68 billion in funding through the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) mechanism, according to the allocations announced by the European Commission for member states. It is the second largest allocation established by the Commission. Participation in the SAFE programme has three components: defence, budgetary and infrastructure. The SAFE instrument is a temporary financial mechanism of the European Union, with a budget of EUR 150 billion in the form of low-interest loans, for which 19 member states, including Romania, have expressed interest. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Cristian Anghelache; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)