Bucharest has joined other Eastern European governments, including Poland and the Baltic states, in proposing financial incentives for American military personnel, amid rising tensions in the Black Sea region, the sources told Bloomberg on condition of anonymity.
Romania, which hosts around 1,000 US troops, was the first European country to experience troop reductions imposed by the Trump administration last year. The Pentagon is expected to complete a review of its military presence in Europe by the end of the year, which could lead to further cuts, Bloomberg reported.
The Romanian government now plans to invest around EUR 4 billion by 2040 in the Mihail Kogălniceanu air base on the Black Sea coast, with the aim of accommodating more American or other foreign troops and providing them with better conditions, among other incentives, the sources said.
Romanian authorities plan to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP, in line with NATO targets, from around 2.5% currently.
Romania is also the second-largest recipient, after Poland, of funding under the EU’s common defence procurement programme, SAFE.