site.btaNATO, Bulgarian Planes Will Be Able to Guard Jointly Bulgarian Air Space

NATO, Bulgarian Planes Will Be Able to Guard Jointly Bulgarian Air Space

Sofia, January 14 (BTA) - It will be possible to include NATO in the activity of the armed forces and, in particular the tasks related to Air Policing, according to amendments to the Armed Forces Act, adopted by Parliament on first reading.

The draft amendments were supported by GERB, the Reformist Bloc, the Patriotic Front and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). Forty-one MPs from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), Ataka and ABV. One national representative abstained.

The sponsor of the amendments, the Council of Ministers, says in its motives that due to the critical situation within the Air Force resulting from the shortage of fit aircraft, the proposed changes provide additional guarantees for the fulfillment of the tasks, related to the guarding of the Bulgarian air.

They are also complied with the recommendations made at the NATO summit in Wales in 2014 for strengthening the capabilities for guarding the air at NATO's eastern flank and ensuring better interaction within the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (NATINAMDS). The opponents of the Bill argued that this is a waiver of national security and a step towards closure of the Bulgarian Air Force. Besides, they wondered what money has to be paid to foreign planes.

Defence Committee Chairman Miho Mikov (ABV) said that those, who take control the air, may say they want to reign the sea as well. The Air Policing requires at least 7-8 high quality planes, he noted. According to Mihov, by the adopted changes Bulgaria actually confesses to its allies that the country will already be a consumer of defence, while the message to the Bulgarian pilots is that "we can do without them, which is particularly insulting".

Dimiter Radev (GERB) noted that at present Bulgaria's whole land system is also available to NATO's allies. The control over the air navigation is exercised by the Bulgarian Army, jointly with the Interior Ministry and the Transport Ministry, i.e. it is in Bulgarian hands. "At present, we are trying both to secure the air space and perform the tasks under the Air Policing with old equipment," Radev observed. The real question now is how long the MIG 29 fleet should be maintained and at which point a multifunctional plane should be purchased.

Reformist Bloc Co-Floor Leader Naiden Zelenogorski asked rhetorically how Bulgaria would react with its current resources in the event of violation of its airspace by several planes simultaneously.

"I am not sure that EU and NATO will continue to exist and then how will we do without armed forces," Ataka's Stanislav Stanilov asked.

Left MP Atanas Zafirov insisted to receive answers to the questions whether the foreign fighters will guard the Bulgarian air space or will play only a supporting role and how much the Bulgarian tax-payers will have to pay for this.

Another Left MP, Angel Naydenov, said that the proposal exposes the incumbents' ineptness to guarantee the existence of the Bulgarian Air Force. In his opinion a possible solution would be found by adopting a text guaranteeing that the Bulgaria Air Force will have a priority in the patrolling.

"Bulgaria will guard its air space alone or jointly with its partners and I do not see anything alarming in it," Defence Minister Nikolai Nenchev commented in Parliament's lobbies. He confirmed that during joint patrolling the foreign planes will be subordinated to the national command and that of NATO. A decision for the use of arms is taken solely by the national authority, i.e. the Bulgarian Defence Minister.

As a host country, Bulgaria has the right to choose its partner-country and agree on the commitments of the two sides with it, the Minister stated.