The President: Bulgaria Should Reconfirm its Commitment to Increasing the Spending on Defense
2014-06-04 15:38:00
At the NATO summit in Wales to be held in the autumn, Bulgaria should reconfirm the commitment it assumed within the Alliance to reach a level of spending on defense and security worth two percent of the GDP. The other NATO member states should do the same, President Rosen Plevneliev commented, who summarized for journalists in Warsaw the topics on the agenda of the talks held with leaders from Central and Eastern Europe and the US President in the Polish capital, where 25 years since the beginning of the democratic changes in Poland are marked.
“We cannot offer only the economic crisis as an excuse. We should pool efforts to ensure our security, which also means making investments,” the Head of State was adamant. In the President’s view, Bulgaria should be more active when implementing joint defense projects with its NATO partners. Bulgaria can perform the tasks of protecting the air space in the Black Sea region together with Romania and Turkey. Opportunities also exist whereby joint projects on intelligent defense can be implemented together with the other NATO member states in the region, the President said. “Bulgaria must be involved in the integration process that is currently taking place,” Rosen Plevneliev emphasized and cited the example of the Visegrad Four and Baltic States, which have already launched efficient joint projects and programs.
Before the leaders of Central and East Europe, US President Barack Obama reconfirmed the US and NATO’s strong commitment to the security of the member states “no matter whether we are speaking of a single soldier or one centimeter of the territory of each member state,” the Head of State further commented. “President Obama clearly said that the US is reaffirming its commitment to the democratic NATO member states. However, each individual country should do the necessary things, because security is not granted, it should be ensured by pooling joint efforts,” Rosen Plevneliev further said.
In Warsaw the US president said that a program is launched worth one billion US$ in support of the efforts for improving the security and cooperation between the Central and East European NATO member states. The program will provide the funds for conducting joint military exercises of the countries in the region and expanding the defense capabilities. President Rosen Plevneliev was adamant that Bulgaria should be active within the program and set up and launch high-quality projects.
“All of us agree that the current moment is decisive for Europe’s security. We should live up to the expectations, we should have a strong united voice, hoping that Russia will change its policy so that the actions of any single European state can be based on the values of the law-governed state and international order, not on the right of the strong,” the Head of State further commented in Warsaw.
Late last night the Bulgarian President attended the ceremony at which the Solidarity first award was handed out. In the Polish capital the Head of State attended the solemn ceremony which marked the 25th anniversary of the first democratic elections in Poland and the beginning of the political changes in Central and Eastern Europe, held today.
