National Defense Strategy Authors: Increasing Army Is Justified in New Security Environment

Moldova proposes to gradually increase the defense budget up to 1% of GDP by 2030. The draft Moldovan National Defense Strategy, approved by the Government and submitted to the Parliament says this, newtv.md reports. ‘The first step towards achieving this imperative was taken after the outbreak of war in Ukraine by increasing the resources allocated from the state budget from 0.39% of GDP in 2022 to 0.55% in 2023, with approximately 70% of this increase directed to modernization. At the same time, in addition to national financial resources, assistance from the bilateral partnership, the EU and NATO was capitalized,’ the document says. The authors specify that 25 per cent of the budget will be allocated to ensure the development and modernization process, and 2 per cent to research and development, innovation and local investments to ensure the autonomy of critical capabilities. The document also states that Moldova has the smallest army in Europe in relation to its population. At the beginning of 1994, according to the staffing table approved by the Moldovan Government, the land forces of the National Army had 9,800 soldiers organized into three motorized rifle brigades, an artillery brigade and a reconnaissance battalion. In 1999, the Moldovan Parliament for the first time approved the general structure of the National Army and the institutions of the Defense Ministry with the number of 8500 soldiers, later, in 2001, the number was reduced to 7200 soldiers, then, in 2003, it was reduced to 6800 soldiers, and in 2007 it reached 6500 soldiers, this fact is still relevant today. Since 2012, the Armed Forces have been reduced by almost 6,000 soldiers as a result of the reform and demilitarization of the Border Guard Department structures (with reorganization into the Inspectorate General of Border Police), which were originally part of the Armed Forces, as well as the reduction of the combat-ready Inspectorate General of Carabinieri. ‘Thus, there has been an overall reduction of almost 8,000 servicemen in the Armed Forces compared to 1999. Increasing the number of military personnel in peacetime is a justifiable imperative in the new security environment and the returning constitutional tasks. Achieving an adequate level of the national defense system functioning requires a new, multi-dimensional approach, with a number of personnel appropriate for the missions and with a predictable and credible, long-term allocation of resources for defense, designed to ensure minimum defensive sufficiency of the state, with priority to the Armed Forces core component,’ the document says.