The ceremony was attended by Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, German Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. The minister said: “When I took office, I found a contract with commercial provisions considered ‘set in stone’. I could not accept conditions less advantageous than what we have today for Romania. Today, we have shown that if you negotiate fairly and firmly, you can change even what others said was impossible.”
Through renegotiation, Romania secured major benefits including veto rights on strategic decisions, mandatory use of Romanian suppliers, fairer licensing costs, and a clearly quantified state participation. The changes resulted in savings of more than €93 million compared to the initial contract.
Minister Miruță emphasised the importance of professionalism in managing state-owned companies, declaring: “This is why I insist that professionals lead state-owned companies: so that strategic investments like this one have the right framework and the right people. I will not yield. And I will not yield when it comes to Romania’s interests.”
