Bucharest has floated covering part of the expenses the U.S. incurs to station forces in Romania, according to people familiar with the talks. That aligns Romania with several eastern European governments, including Poland and the Baltic states, that are dangling financial incentives for U.S. personnel as tensions around the Black Sea rise.
Romania currently hosts about 1,000 U.S. soldiers, and last year it became the first European nation where Donald Trump's administration ordered troop reductions. The Pentagon is set to wrap up a review of its military footprint in Europe by year end, a process that could lead to further reductions.
By 2040, authorities plan to finish a €4 billion (about $4.5 billion) upgrade at Mihail Kogalniceanu, the installation situated along the Black Sea shoreline. The aim, the people said, is to make room for additional U.S. and other foreign forces while upgrading living and operating standards, along with other perks.
Even as it tries to narrow a budget gap that ranks among the European Union's largest, the government targets lifting defense outlays to 5% of GDP from roughly 2.5% today, aligning with NATO objectives. Romania is also the second biggest beneficiary after Poland of funding from the EU's SAFE joint defense procurement program.
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As Russia's invasion of Ukraine enters its fifth year, fighting in the Black Sea area has escalated in recent weeks. Dan said late Friday that France was the first ally to step forward with assistance to reinforce Romania's Black Sea defenses against drones.
Romania, which has the EU's longest border with Ukraine, is probing whether unmanned aerial vehicles that struck two commercial vessels near its territorial waters over the past two days were Russian. Authorities are still searching for seven missing crew after a vessel came under attack from aerial drones on Thursday.
Romania's pitch to share U.S. basing costs, a planned €4 billion base buildout by 2040, and a move toward defense spending of 5% of GDP set a clear signal on security priorities. The upcoming U.S. posture review in Europe and renewed Black Sea incidents add moving pieces investors may track for their exposure to Romania and the region.
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