Soldații polonezi din cadrul Forței de răspuns a NATO (NRF) se pregătesc să participe la un exercițiu cu trageri reale alături de soldații francezi și români, la grupul de luptă multinațional al NATO din România / Sursa: NATO.int
Romania’s defense minister says changes to contentious pensions paid to retired military personnel can’t be done overnight even of the European Commission is demanding a faster pace in line with cuts to reduce Romania’s massive budget deficit.
Defense Minister Ionut Mosteanu said so-called special pensions paid to tens of thousands of retired defense officials should be phased out until gradually over a 10-year period, in an interview withDigi24.
„We don’t have a clear plan of changing the pension system,” he said on Sunday. “What’s the point of buying new missiles, tanks, planes when we need human resources.”
“We need 10 years; any system can be reformed in that time. We need a clear system from a constitutional point of view. The European Commission will understand.”
“We have many people will experience who worked in NATO international missions, which could be forced to retire tomorrow,” he said. Romanian military officials, which include intelligence officers and interior ministry employees are allowed to retire early, some only in their 40s which has created a burden on the pension system.
Romania’s government has undertaken a series of budget cuts starting this months to reduce the budget deficit of 9,3%, the highest in the European Union.
Romania has 80,000 retired military officers who have an average monthly pension of 5,000 lei, about 1,000 euros, he said.
Defense officers covers a wide umbrella of officials who worked in the defense, interior and Romania’s various intelligence officers.
