The European Union and NATO should consider Southeast Europe not as a periphery, but as a centre for geopolitical interests and policies. This is what Head of State Rosen Plevneliev said in the statement he made at the summit of the NATO member states from Central and Southeast Europe. In Bucharest the state leaders of the Central and Southeast European countries are discussing the challenges NATO is facing in the context of the changes in the geopolitical security environment.
At the plenary session entitled “A stronger and more adapted NATO for enhanced Security, Solidarity and Cohesion” the Bulgarian President defined the security environment in the region as unpredictable, as a result of the record number of crises. “Our citizens feel that instability. They expect from politicians to act boldly, to solve, not to deepen these crises. We should not wait for the crises to appear on our TV screens before we act. It is high time we acted together and addressed the causes, not the consequences. Peace is not just the absence of war. Peace means rules and the rule of law that apply to everyone.”
NATO should be ready to face the challenges “coming from all directions”, the President highlighted at the meeting. “All Allies must be equally protected. The adoption of the NATO Contingency Plan for Bulgaria and Romania, as well as the implementation of the Readiness Action Plan from Wales, are an important step in this direction,” Rosen Plevneliev said. The Head of State added that the Readiness Action Plan should be followed by a Long Term Adaptation of the Alliance by adopting a balanced approach, which should include sustained assurance measures, strengthening the military capabilities of the allies and readiness for a rapid deployment of the NATO forces wherever necessary. Bulgaria expects that the topic will be the basic one at the next NATO summit in Warsaw in 2016.
At the meeting in Bucharest the Bulgarian President welcomed the Alliance’s focus on the security in the Black Sea region after the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. “Conducting joint military training and exercises is the way to increase the compatibility and interoperability of our Armed Forces,” the Head of State said.
The President further recalled that a key task of the allies is increasing the investments in defense. “In order to reverse the trend of a declining defense budget, I recently initiated a meeting of the National Security Council in Sofia. As a result Bulgaria will increase defense budget from 1,19 % currently to 1,35 % in 2016, and gradually towards 2 % within a decade,” the Bulgarian President said. A decision was made at the Consultative Council to speed up the compatibility of the Bulgarian Armed Forces with those of our allies, by only obtaining equipment and technology that are in full compliance with NATO standards.
In the Head of State’s view, the answer to our limited financial resources is the implementation of Smart Defense projects. “For instance, we should consider joint maintenance of NATO fighters and pilot training with other Member States in the region,” President Rosen Plevneliev said.
The opening of the NATO Force Integration Unit in Sofia and in five other countries on the Eastern flank, and also the decision to create two additional ones in Slovakia and Hungary is a significant step towards increasing our joint defense capabilities, President Plevneliev further said in his statement. The Head of State highlighted the importance of the NATO Crisis Management Centre and called on the allies to actively participate in its activities.
“The Warsaw Summit will give us an excellent opportunity to unite efforts in strengthening our security and ensure that our Alliance is well prepared for any future threats. Bulgaria is ready to contribute further to our own defense and to the collective security of the Alliance,” the Bulgarian President further said.
The participants in the meeting adopted a joint declaration “Allied Solidarity and Shared Responsibility.”