Romania to acquire small warships fleet amid election interference chaos and debate about NATO involvement

Romania's Supreme Defence Council on Friday approved a plan to add new small warships to its fleet, part of wider efforts to strengthen its role in the Black Sea and on NATO's eastern flank.

The European Union and NATO member - which shares the longest land border with Ukraine - cancelled in 2023 a long-delayed deal to buy four warships from French firm Naval Group after the company and a junior partner failed to meet a deadline to sign a contract.

Naval Group won the contract to build four Gowind-class navy corvettes for Romania and renovate two existing frigates for 1.2 billion euros but the deal was held up, first by legal challenges and then by it failing to reach an understanding with its junior partner over rising costs.

"Council members analyzed and approved equipping the Romanian Navy with a new warship, a light corvette type able to execute in the shortest time a multitude of missions," the defence council said in a statement, adding it has tasked the defence ministry with starting the acquisition process.

No further details were provided.

Romania's navy is the least modernised of its military branches. The country currently says it plans to raise defence spending to as much as 2.5 per cent of economic output this year from a little over 2.2 per cent in 2024.

Romania's defence spending could reach three per cent of GDP in stages in one to two years, interim president Ilie Bolojan said last month.

In December 2024, Romania’s Constitutional Court made an unprecedented decision to annul the results of the first round of the country’s presidential election, held on November 24, just days before the scheduled runoff on December 8, claiming Russian interference.

Conservative candidate and NATO skeptic Călin Georgescu led the first round with 23 per cent of the vote. Georgescu described NATO’s ballistic missile defense shield at Deveselu as a “shame of diplomacy” and a source of national embarrassment, suggesting it entangled Romania in unnecessary conflicts rather than ensuring its safety.

A new election is now set for May 2025, although local and EU actors have made numerous attempts to remove Deveselu from contention, provoking widespread protests. The election may thus have an impact on future defence procurement.

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Andrea Ricci)