site.btaBulgaria's Defence Spending to Equal 2.05% of GDP, Minister Tagarev Says

Bulgaria's defence spending will equal 2.05% of the country's GDP on the estimates of the macro-frame of the 2024 draft state budget, Defence Minister Todor Tagarev told bTV on Sunday. 30% of the funds will be earmarked for investment, he added.

"Not only will we have money, but a significant part of it will be for rearmament, for modernization of the army so that it can prepare to fight alongside our allies, to guarantee our security," the Defence Minister said. Tagarev recalled that in 2018 a plan was adopted to increase defence spending to 2% of GDP.

Answering a question, related to Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov’s request that President Rumen Radev dismisses State Agency for National Security (SANS) Chair Plamen Tonchev, Tagarev said that, according to Bulgaria’s constitution, the Council of Ministers is responsible to create and implement the country’s foreign and interior policy, including national security policy and defence policy. SANS and the rest of the security services, except Military Intelligence (subordinate to the defence minister), function as part and are subordinate to the Council of Ministers, he explained. "The Prime Pinister was very clear that he had lost trust in the SANS Deputy Chair, and later, in the SANS Chair. The president refused to dismiss the SANS Chair," Tagarev said, adding that he cannot recall any other time the country was in such a situation.