Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu said yesterday that Romania must have enough money to buy new fighting jets, underlining that he is not in favour of buying second-hand equipment. When asked to comment on Romania’s plans to buy fighting jets, the PM said that there are talks about the issue in the country’s Supreme Defence Council, but underlined that there are standard procedures that need to be respected in such situations.

“I would like to see some involvement of the Romanian industry in this issue, at least as regards the maintenance part. We are in a stage where offers are still being made and no decision has yet been adopted. I am not an adept of buying second-hand equipment,” he said. When asked whether there are enough funds to buy new fighting jets, the Premier answered that “there has to be enough money.” “We are a NATO state, we have full support in what regards safety and security, but we have to try harder,” said Tariceanu.