Romania
Romania boycotted the negotiations on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in 2017 and has consistently voted against the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the Treaty, including in 2025. It may sign and ratify or accede to the TPNW, but will have to make changes to its policies and practices to become compliant.
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 1999, Annex 2 state) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2010) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2010) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1979) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1995) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Possess or stockpile | Compatible | |
| Test | Compatible | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compatible |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compatible |
| (d) | Use | Compatible |
| Threaten to use | Compatible | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Non-compatible |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compatible |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compatible |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted no (2025) |
| Participated in 3MSP (2025) | No |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | No |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | N/A |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | No |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted no |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | Yes |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | Cleared |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | No |
Latest developments
In 2024, two US nuclear-capable B-52H Stratofortress aircraft arrived at the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base in Romania as part of the Bomber Task Force Europe. ‘This marks the first time US strategic bomber aircraft have operated out of Romania,’ the US European Command announced on its website.1
Romania contributes to NATO’s Conventional Support to Nuclear Operations (CSNO) mission with its F-16 aircraft.2
In the Conference on Disarmament in February 2025, the then-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania, Emil Hurezeanu, said: ‘In these past years, we have witnessed an increase in nuclear arsenals and the outburst of irresponsible nuclear rhetoric.’ He expressed concern, in particular, about the advancement of the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programmes and Russia’s ‘threats to resort to the use of nuclear weapons’.3
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting in April 2025, Romania reaffirmed ‘its continuous support for the NPT as the cornerstone of global non-proliferation and disarmament architecture’ and said that it remained ‘committed to the full implementation of the NPT across its three pillars’.4
In the general debate of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2025, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania, Oana-Silvia Țoiu, said: ‘From our perspective, there are various instruments within the established UN framework to help maintaining and restoring international peace and security. The global nuclear non-proliferation regime is one such key instrument.’5
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, Romania said that it ‘remains committed to promoting and strengthening multilateral instruments in the field of arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation’. It described the NPT as ‘a key instrument to the maintenance of international peace and security’.6
Recommendations
-
Romania should renounce the possession and potential use of nuclear weapons on its behalf, and ensure that nuclear weapons do not have a role in its defence posture.
-
Romania should comply with its existing obligation under Article VI of the NPT and pursue negotiations in good faith on nuclear disarmament.
-
Romania should urgently adhere to the TPNW. Until it is in a position to do so, it should welcome the TPNW as a valuable component in the global disarmament and non-proliferation architecture, work with the Treaty's states parties on practical steps towards disarmament, and attend the meetings of states parties as an observer.