Romania defence market: legal framework for procurement and industrial cooperation

The legal and regulatory framework governing defence partnerships in Romania is undergoing rapid transformation, shaped by shifting geopolitics, rising defence investment and a renewed focus on domestic industrial capacity. These dynamics- and the opportunities they create – are examined in the new UK/Romania Business report – Building better defence industry partnerships: opportunities in the new geopolitics.

Wolf Theiss authored the legal chapter of this report, providing an in-depth analysis of Romania’s defence and security procurement regime. The chapter reviews the country’s multilayered procurement architecture, the modernised offset framework, evolving partnership models and the growing role of industrial policy in award decisions. It also outlines the regulatory, compliance and security requirements that international defence contractors must address when structuring projects in one of the most strategically significant markets on NATO’s eastern flank.

The contribution is authored by Andreea Zvac and Cornelia Postelnicu, together with Bryan Jardine, and reflects the work of our dedicated Defence team and the firm’s CEE-wide capabilities advising on complex defence procurement, industrial participation and cross-border defence investment mandates. The full report is available for download below.