# 9 5 - C O M M E N

Prior Simona was Research Fellow for defence and military analysis with IISS, senior associate analyst for transatlantic defence and EU-NATO cooperation with the EUISS, senior security and defence advisor to the Vice-President of the European Parliament and defence analyst with the Ministry of Defence. [...] The document lists accessing European R&D funding opportunities, awarding governmental investments in the domestic defence industry and increasing the competitiveness of the Romanian defence research sector as the last three of twenty-three lines of action in national defence (Presidential Administration, 2023). [...] They are also testimony to Romania’s hedging efforts between the rising opportunity presented by the EU defence toolbox and strong non-European partnerships, such as the strategic partnership with the US and the historical collaboration with Israel, two of the largest investors in the Romanian defence industry. [...] Despite the mentioning of all EU defence toolbox instruments, and in contradiction to the narrative by the Ministry of National Defence and the Supreme Council of National Defence, the industrial strategy’s priorities do not appear to immediately prioritise the defence industrial sector (Ministry of Economy, 2023a). [...] The commitment to meet key Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) pledges is prominent in the 2020-2024 National Defence Strategy, including the allocation of 2% of GDP to defence, of 20% of annual defence expenditure to defence investment and of 2% to defence research and development (Presidential Administration, 2020).