Romeo OIȚĂ

BSDA 2008 evolved both in the regional importance of the event and in regards to the complexity of the exhibition participants. The purpose of this manifestation is to become a bridge between the military and private security systems / equipment producers and users. The context in which this event is set is favorable for Romania, as the country assumes its central strategic role at the EURO – NATO border with Russia.
For Romania to benefit from its strategic role as a central point in between the Black Sea, the Balkans and Western Europe, it is important that the country proves its capacity to develop an efficient defense system, capable to deal with future challenges. Currently, in Romania, the expenses for defense are approximately 2,05% of the GDP, a high rate if we compare it to other European countries members of NATO. Even so, as an absolute value, 2,2 billion euro does not represent a very high figure (from which 35% is invested in new equipment and machines). However, it is still an important value if we consider that among the NATO members in the region only Turkey and Greece have bigger expenses for the defense industry.
The main objective for the Romanian companies within the defence industry, according to the information released by the Romanian Ministry of Defense, is to integrate the Soviet (tradition and brand) technological know-how with the more and more important NATO model. Such integration is important not only because Romania was accepted in the alliance a few years ago, but also due to the fundamental importance of the interactivity of armed systems for the defense of the Black Sea coasts.
Currently, the Romanian army has 90,000 active members, of which the majority is recruited. The main objective for the future is to increase the numbers of soldiers to 112,000, of which 75% to be professional soldiers: an important objective, especially concerning the NATO demands. Nowadays, Bucharest would play a more important role if it would be located in the centre of an environment with multiple roles. Thus, integration remains one of the priorities of all the new strategies for Romania, and its roles are mainly related to the « early warning », which is the first element when fighting against trafficking in human beings, weapons, drugs and war materials.
Military cooperation is essential both for the security of Romania and for the defense industry. It is not possible for Romania to reach its objectives without technological, logistical and training cooperation. In regards to the active participation of Bucharest to the security of the Balkans and of the South-East of Europe, it is clear that there is a competition with Moscow for military supremacy in the Black Sea region.
As mentioned before, the cooperation between Romania and the Western countries must be realized through the development of the defense industry, which is less linked to the Russian standards and closer to the NATO standards. Currently, the national technologies are not the latest generation, and without a foreign technological contribution, the industry is not going to be able to offer an adequate defense for the state.
This sector is divided in two main groups: the national company ROMARM, which comprises approximately 15 participants, and the private company PATROMIL, an organization that includes 12 private companies. The invested funds generally cannot absorb more than 225 million dollars, which is a fairly low figure for the new important programs. In fact, the main effort will be focused on privatizing the old industrial systems, which are not efficient anymore and have an excessive employment rate (approximately 200,000 workers), and the companies that are not competitive for international exports.
The study shows that Romania’s intention is to become a strategic centre, with the purpose of exploit both the energetic resources and the strategic ones of such an arrangement. The country has all the geographical conditions to win both positions, although it does not have the necessary funds to become the main actor.
I consider that BSDA 2008 represents a powerful instrument for the development and support of the defense industry, integration in the NATO military standards, having as its final purpose the increase in Romania’s importance within the Balkanic geo-strategy.