Changes of government should not lead to endless reforms, cuts and the withdrawal of social compensation for military personnel, said President and Commander-in-Chief Rosen Plevneliev, who took part in the enlarged Defence Council at the Ministry of Defence. The head of state said that calm was needed in the armed forces and he urged that no doubt be cast on the size of their social benefits and compensation.
“In my capacity as Commander-in-Chief, I will do everything necessary to maintain the level of monetary compensiation under article 227 of the Defence and Armed Forces Act regarding release from military service, regardless of who is in power and who will be the minister,” President Plevneliev told participants in the Defence Council meeting. Military personnel must have full trust in state institutions, the President underlined, and insisted that decisions should be durable and not contradictory.
The President expressed concern about the large number of young officers, NCOs and troops who were leaving the military of their own accord. He described the situation as “alarming”, noting that from October 1 to December 15 alone, hundreds of military personnel had filed requests to leave, two-thirds of them officers. He said that most of these officers were of the ranks of captain, major and colonel, and said that the large majority had the rank of major. “Obviously there is a problem and we are obliged to solve it,” President Plevneliev said. He said that the reasons for the exodus of qualified personnel from the military had accumulated over years, but since 1992, the ratings of the armed forces had more than halved, from 76 per cent to 36 per cent.
The President underlined his support for the “average achieved” of 1.5 per cent of GDP for defence spending to 2017. This requirement was stated in the White Paper on Defence and Armed Forces, the head of state said. He expressed satisfaction with the progress made in the context of the constraints, a nine per cent increase in the labour remuneration of military personnel from the beginning of 2013, and about seven per cent for civilians.
President Plevneliev declared his support for “grounded and resourced reforms” in the armed forces and their transformation into forces that are modern and that have close links with NATO. He expressed his expectation that after 2013, within the defence spending approved in the state budget, implementation would begin of planned projects for the modernisation and rearmament of the army.