Newly elected President Nicuș or Dan said Romania would support NATO's spending targets, even as it began to cut its own public deficit.
Dan's election victory ended six months of political and economic turmoil on Sunday, resulting from the cancellation of the presidential election that was allegedly intervened by Russia.
Dan said in an interview with the Financial Times that his country made clear choices as EU and NATO members and won Ukrainian allies, who were the first round of votes by voting him as a member of the European Union and NATO.
"We will continue to work in Europe to help Ukraine achieve the most reasonable peace," Dan said before taking office on Monday. "This means continuing to support Ukraine and participating in Europe's efforts to take its security into our own hands."
He said Romania was willing to increase its defense spending and met its new goal of NATO's GDP of 3.5%, while the Defense Organization Secretary General Mark Rutte proposed an additional 1.5% of infrastructure and cybersecurity, and was endorsed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
NATO leaders may agree to the target at a summit next month, as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to withdraw U.S. security assurances, NATO's current target is 2% unless allies spend up to 5% of GDP to get their own security.
"Yes, this is something I support," Dan said, adding that the timeline for defense spending will be negotiated with the United States and other allies. "We will be consistent," he added.
His pledge to increase defense spending was a delicate moment in Romania, where the government lowered the budget deficit to 9.3% of GDP last year, the highest in the EU.
Even if the European Commission allows defense spending to be exempted from the group's fiscal rules, Bucharest is under pressure to curb other spending, a task that Dan has unintentionally done. Brussels is threatening to escalate its so-called excessive deficit process on June 4, and even suspend EU funding if the new government does not propose credible plans for how to reduce the deficit.
Training mathematician Dan said it is "realistic" to make this year's budget deficit account for 7.5% of GDP. "We have to cut spending by 6 billion euros this year. I think we can do it ... I want to participate in the discussion," he said, adding that the new government could be formed within a month.
His vote for investors and the EU will be to look at his record as mayor of Bucharest and “having confidence in our new plan”. When he started, instant debt payments totaled 75% of the annual budget, but he moved New York City to a stable balance sheet and a senior debt rating for four years.
Dan’s most pressing task is to appoint a prime minister who can form a coalition government that can reform through the economy back on track.
"I want to balance the state budget and provide free space for private initiatives, but we must first hold four (mainstream) parties in the government," he said. Early negotiations were already in the parliamentary majority, but it is not clear whether the largest party, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), will remain in the government or join Simion's far-right Aurora Party.
Dan said he is seeking to appoint a prime minister with a solid majority behind him, because his country cannot afford any political “game” at this stage. Interim President Ilie Bolojan is a center-right senator who is leaning toward Dan's favorite, but other political parties must agree.
Dan acknowledged that his and the new government’s performance would be at the heart of preventing the greatest right to win the next parliamentary election in 2028.
"I know five million voters," he said. “Their reason is not ideology, but economic and social.”
Romania's currency The Leu beat the euro violently when Simion won the first round, and the government worked hard to lend it to the international market. Credit rating agencies say the country is only one level higher than its "trash" status.
"We have to admit that the Romanian state is committed to accomplishing a lot," he said.
He said corruption, mismanagement and widening wealth gaps have all led to anger at political institutions. “Many politicians from old parties…understand that they have to change.”
Dan also called for more investigation into alleged interventions in the first round of vote cancelled in November, won by former marginal politician Călin Georgescu.
"The next step will be the judicial system. Part of the reason why five million people voted for the far right is the lack of explanation for the November election."