site.btaDefence Committee Backs Memorandum with Turkiye on Peacetime Air Policing

Meeting here on Tuesday, the Parliamentary Defence Committee  voted, 10-3 with no abstentions, to support a bill on the ratification of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the governments of Bulgaria and Turkiye concerning cross-border Air Policing Operations.

The proposal was submitted by the Council of Ministers on August 1. After a decision by the Council of Ministers to approve a draft of the MoU in late January, the MoU was signed on February 21, 2024, in Ankara.

Air Policing, as defined in the document's preamble, is a peacetime activity aimed at airspace security within NATO's Integrated Air Defence and Missile Defence System. The document further clarifies that states should address, through bilateral agreements, the conduct of cross-border Air Policing operations concerning their sovereign rights, such as guarding national territory and authorizing Allied forces to conduct operations.

The MoU outlines the fundamental principles, procedures and conditions for these cross-border Air Policing operations. One of the leading principles in their implementation is respect for the national sovereignty of both nations involved. It specifies the national authorities responsible for authorizing and conducting these operations, the aim being to establish an effective and operational system of authorities and mechanisms, with timing and expertise adequate to situations arising from cross-border Air Policing operations in the airspace of the two countries.

This is the third MoU of this type, after those signed with Greece and Romania, Defence Committee Chair Hristo Gadzhev said.

The Chief of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov, said at the Committee meeting the only difference with the MoUs signed with Greece and Romania is that the MoU with Turkiye does not allow the use of weapons. The memorandum is reciprocal, granting the two parties equal rights. "MiG-29 is still on combat duty guarding Bulgaria's airspace," Eftimov said.