The aircraft will serve the European F-16 Training Center (EFTC), established as a result of the collaboration between the Ministry of National Defense, through the Romanian Air Force and the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands, through the Royal Air Force, in partnership with the Lockheed Martin Company and with the support of the Kingdom of Denmark, co-ordinating state alongside the Netherlands, of the international F-16 Coalition.

The center will be an international hub for F-16 pilot training and will facilitate increased interoperability between allies. At the same time, it will contribute to the creation of common operational standards and to strengthening the capacity of the North Atlantic Alliance to face the complex challenges in the Black Sea region and in Eastern Europe. According to the collaboration agreement, the Romanian Ministry of Defense provides the 86th Air Base, training facilities and host nation support, the Royal Netherlands Air Force provides F-16 aircraft, and the Lockheed Martin Company provides the instructors and maintenance.

EFTC will contribute to speeding up the training process of Romanian pilots, in the context in which the Romanian Army is preparing to receive 32 F-16 aircraft, recently purchased from Norway.

According to the cited source, considering the current geopolitical context and Romania’s strategic position in the Black Sea region, this center becomes essential for cross-border collaboration, strengthening security and strengthening solidarity within NATO.

By establishing the European F-16 Training Center, Romania is committed to providing a high-quality training environment, with access to state-of-the-art technical resources and know-how, not only for Romanian pilots but also for those from allied states and partners, including Ukraine.

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The tender for the construction of the corvettes was cancelled by the Romanian Ministry of Defense – amid the war on Romania’s borders and on the external border of the European Union and NATO – after the French renounced the contract.

The French from the Naval Group gave up the winning bid, so the Department of Armaments, subordinate to the Ministry of Defense, should have negotiated with the Dutch company Damen, the second-place bidder. This did not happen, and the Ministry of Defense risks being sued.

Defapt.ro revealed that the French company Naval Group, which won the 1.2 billion euro tender for the construction of four military corvettes four years ago, was summoned by the Ministry of National Defense to sign the contract by 16 June 2023. The French refused to sign the contract because it could no longer fit into the bid price, but mainly because the officials from Bucharest promised them the contract for submarines worth almost two billion euros. The actual offer was lower than that.

However, the Dutch company Damen, the second place holder with an offer of 1.255 billion euros, extended its offer. Thus, through the Department for Armaments, the Ministry of National Defence should have negotiated the contract award with the Damen company.

Sources within the Damen company told Defapt.ro that up to this point, no official notification had been received regarding the cancellation of the tender procedure. But unofficially, they are aware of the decision of the Ministry of National Defense to cancel the tender.

At the management level, it was decided to wait for the decision of the Romanian state to be officially notified. An analysis will be made to see if we will sue the ministry. The Romanian state should do what it thinks is best for the Romanian state. Damen made it their business to extend the final financial offer as long as they believed they could make the corvettes on MoD terms. Damen’s offer is still valid.

Damen sources to Defapt.ro

Apparently, Romania doesn’t have enough defence funds to allocate more than EUR 1 billion to the contract, so the tender is about to be cancelled. On the other hand, coincidence or not, Damen has just pulled out of the Mangalia shipyard management, which could add additional tension to relations between Romania and the Netherlands.

The post Damen Could Sue Romania over Corvette Tender Cancellation appeared first on Valahia.News.

The company’s officials say that at the moment, the legal framework under which the association between the Romanian state and Damen operated the Mangalia Shipyard was cancelled.

The legal framework currently applied violates the conditions offered, agreed and guaranteed in favour of Damen by the Romanian state and its structures in 2018, completely invalidating the principles that were the basis of Damen’s decision to invest in the Mangalia construction site. In addition, this fact comes after more than three years of other blockages in the decision-making process, no other type of help, involvement or financing from the Romanian partner. For example, we informed the Romanian authorities and the relevant entities about the new law’s impact on this partnership, even before its adoption, and requested immediate actions to prevent it. Damen insisted on genuine dialogue and a quick solution before the law came into force to minimize any disruption to shipyard activity and resolve the problematic situation. This did not happen.

Damen Internatioal press release

Damen Holding B.V. (Damen) is a controversial presence in Romania, as they invested in shipyards in Galaţi and Mangalia and operate the largest naval design company in Romania. Their investment is seen as the Netherlands’ desire to take the Romanian shipyards and seaports under their control to hinder Romania from competing with Rotterdam and other Dutch ports. This is not only a political campaign subject used by various politicians over time but also a widespread belief.

More than that, the Netherlands’ opposition to Romania entering Schengen has primarily been viewed as a strategy to pressure the Romanian Government into giving up control over the national harbours.

In 2018, Damen decided to invest in Mangalia and agreed to transfer to the Romanian side 2% of the shares of the company that operates the Mangalia Shipyard (allowing the Romanian state to become a majority shareholder in this company, with 51%), in exchange for receiving and keeping operational control and managerial of the shipyard.

Based on this partnership with the Romanian state, Damen provided financing, know-how, specialized resources, clients, and contracts to transform the Mangalia site into a competitive one on the European market. This was possible due to the approval of the Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO) 73/2018, which amended GEO 109/2011 for the corporate governance of state companies.

“Following an already difficult collaboration and now facing these unilateral changes, Damen thus faces not only a breach of contract but also a breach of the relationship of trust on the part of the Romanian state. In this regard, after a previous notice of breach of contract through which Damen expressed for the last time its willingness to find a possibility for the continuation of the association, to which the Romanian side offered no solution, Damen had no other option than to issue the notice of termination of the Association Agreement concluded in 2018 with the Romanian partner”, the official press release mentions.

The post Damen Demands Termination of Contract with Romania regarding Mangalia Shipyard appeared first on Valahia.News.

In short, Alexandru Hegyi, a Romanian professor living in Japan, was looking to stay in a Dutch hotel in Tilburg. He reserved the room through Booking.com. All good until he received a message from the hotel. They said he could not stay at the hotel because of his nationality. Being Romanian is a crime, even in the “democratic’ Netherlands.

Dear guest,

Thank you for your accommodation. But unfortunately we have an agreement with the municipality of Tilburg, our accommodation no longer receives Romeinse people.

Greetings,

Bosscheweg, B&B Tilburg

The message from the owner of the Dutch hotel to the Romanian guest.

The professor received the refund, but he was so upset with what happened that he informed Booking.com. The platform told him they suspended listing the Dutch hotel, and an investigation is ongoing.

The Romanian professor was so outraged by the Dutch xenophobia that he wrote a public review to the hotel.

I was travelling to Tilburg in the Netherlands, and I have reserved a hotel room via Booking.com here. They confirmed my reservation, but later sent me a message stating that the Romanian people were not welcome and cancelling the reservation. Because it was late in the afternoon, we had to drive to another city to find a room for the night. They also claimed an agreement between the municipality of Tilburg and their hotel banned Romanians from their premises. Disgusting nationality-based discrimination.This is OUTRAGEOUS! I have travelled the world from east to west and from north to south, and I have never encountered such a shameless attitude. This kind of people shouldn’t be engaged in any activities within the hospitality field.When I questioned the hotel about it, they told me that Romanian people are involved in illegal activities, so they tagged me as being a criminal only because I wanted to spend the night there while visiting friends within the city.Several inquiries were made to the Tilburg council, and we are waiting to see what kind of agreements they have. Anyway, this kind of behavior is disgusting, and it is not going to stay like this. Dr. Alexandru Hegyi

Alexandru Hegyi on his experience with the Dutch xenophobia

Romanian politicians got involved in this case, complaining to the Dutch consumer protection watchdog and their anti-discrimination authority.

In the European Union, which has long since ceased to be a family and allows Austria to block access into Schengen for Romania and Bulgaria, cases like this draw attention to the discriminatory practices of the ‘upgraded Western citizens’ towards the Eastern Europeans. Because, let’s admit that the idea of a two-gear Europe has not been abandoned by the lawmakers in Brussels, nor by those in the Netherlands.

So, let’s face this harsh reality and accept that this behaviour of Western citizens against Romanians is not new and will not cease soon. The Netherlands is not a friend of Romania, which might be the case with many other countries. As journalists noticed, xenophobia is rising in the country of the red districts. The Romanian professor is just another victim, as the actual dimension of this behaviour of the Dutch people against Romanians and Muslims reached the highest possible level.

Are you planning to visit the Netherlands? You’d better change your destination and visit a friendlier country instead!

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