site.btaStrategic Review of Bulgaria's Defence Policy to Be Done in Coming Months
A strategic review of the defence policy will be made in the next few months, Defence Minister Todor Tagarev said here Monday during a lecture at Rakovski Defence College on the opening of the new academic year. "Our aim is to adapt this policy by reviewing and optimizing a number of key processes," the Minister added.
Defence Chief Admiral Emil Eftimov also delivered an address.
Tagarev said that Russia's war against Ukraine, along with other growing security risks and threats, challenges Bulgaria to step up the building of a strong defence system within NATO and the EU. He added that the demographic crisis and a number of other factors are impacting adversely the efforts to man the Armed Forces with well trained and motivated personnel.
"The entry of new technologies is changing the nature of war. Conflicts are fought simultaneously in several or all areas of operations: on land, water, air, space and cyberspace. Climate change, too, is having a significant impact on the operational aspects and effectiveness of warfare," he said.
In his words, it is "imperative to overcome technological underdevelopment and achieve interoperability with the allies, break with what has remained of the Soviet legacy and with dependencies on Russia in terms of weaponry and combat equipment".
The Minister said that Bulgaria will continue to support Ukraine, including by providing additional military assistance. "This is a process, not a one-off act," he added. He also said that "our common future security depends on the outcome of this war".
"In the course of the budget procedure for 2024, I will insist again that there should be an annual adjustment of the incomes of people in the defence system to inflation in the last two years," Tagarev said.
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