PM: Bulgaria to prepare national plan for defence investments
A national plan for defence investments will be prepared, which will go through all approval procedures, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov told reporters as the close of the Nato Summit in The Hague.
Zhelyazkov said that Bulgaria confirms the commitment, which was unanimously adopted at the Nato Summit, to reach five per cent of GDP for defence spending of each allied country by 2035.
“Our country is in the process of transforming its defence capabilities and will develop its defence industry, so we will purposefully invest in this direction,” he said.
He said that of the planned higher share for defence, 3.5 per cent will be actual defence spending, and 1.5 per cent is planned for additional defence-related spending, such as investments, technologies, transfer of know-how,and dual-purpose infrastructure.
There are no annual tasks, the important thing is to achieve the goal by 2035, Zhelyazkov said.
Along with the budgetary possibilities, he emphasised in particular the potential of the European Security and defence Instrument SAFE, from which, he said, Bulgaria could also benefit.
Zhelyazkov rejected concerns that defence spending will be at the expense of other key sectors.
“Everything will be spelled out in the national plan, without resorting to such exotic ideas,”Zhelyazkov said.
He said that eexpenses cannot be a cause for concern, only the lack of revenue. A functioning economy must always guarantee growth and an increase in GDP, he said.
Zhelyazkov said that it is important for Nato to expand its defence capabilities in order to refrain from aggressive behavior towards the Alliance, as well as towards each of its member countries.
“Nato is stronger and more united, with the leadership of the United States it looks much stronger than it seemed at the beginning of this year,” Zhelyazkov said.
He highlighted Nato’s important role in the Western Balkans, where Russia’s harmful and hybrid efforts find fertile ground, as evident from the behaviour of some of the countries in the region, he said.
(Photo: government.bg)
