Bulgaria will be working for the reconfirmation of the political consensus in all NATO member states on increasing their contribution to the joint defense capabilities. This is what President Rumen Radev said before Bulgarian journalists before attending the summit of heads of governments and heads of state of the NATO member states held in Brussels.
"The target is that 2% of the GDP of every NATO member states should be allocated to meeting the defense needs. Bulgaria considers it at important that last year the trend was ended whereby the army's numerical strength and budget allocations on defense had been reduced. Henceforth, a gradual increase until 2024 of the defense budget allocations of all member states, including Bulgaria, is to be carried out so that set target share is reached.
The Head of state further pointed out that enhancing NATO's contribution to the fight against terrorism is of crucial importance for both Europe and for the Middle East. According to the President, the terrorist threat in Europe is growing stronger so NATO should counteract. "Increasing NATO's contribution to the fight against terrorism will guarantee that the migration flows into Bulgaria are curbed," Rumen Radev said. The President noted that this would increase the security of the countries in the Middle East, which are combating terrorism in the region, and expects that NATO should give a clear signal of its political commitment to and solidarity with their efforts in this respect.
Taking a question about the possible reconsideration on the part of the government of the projects for the Armed Forces' modernization, President Rumen Radev was adamant that the daily shift of positions and priorities on the matter was not in favour of improving security in Bulgaria. "Parliament has passed a decision, and when the decisions are undermined by other institutions this suggests that Bulgaria's institutional integrity is being altogether undermined. I expect that a serious debate is held on these important issues," Head of state said.