Romania proposes to fund part of US troop costs as Black Sea tensions rise

Romania announced it will contribute financially to the upkeep of US troops deployed on its territory, joining similar offers from Poland and the Baltic nations. American forces are currently based at Mihail Kogălniceanu, Deveselu and Câmpia Turzii, locations that are under review as the Pentagon assesses its overall European presence and possible drawdowns. Bucharest intends to channel significant investment into upgrading the Kogălniceanu base to host additional allied personnel, while also targeting a defence budget increase to 5% of gross domestic product to meet NATO benchmarks.

The country recently became the second beneficiary, after Poland, of EU defence-acquisition funding through the SAFE programme. President Nicușor Dan highlighted that France has been the first ally to provide support against drone threats in the Black Sea, following incidents that left several sailors missing after attacks on the vessels Wine Trader and Yara J.