site.btaUPDATED Bulgaria Must Prioritize Army Modernization, Defence Industry, President Radev Says

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, President Rumen Radev said that the modernization of the Bulgarian army and the strengthening of the country’s defence industry should be a top, constant, and conscious commitment of every government, rather than waiting for directions from Brussels to start considering these matters.

The head of State recalled the meetings of the Consultative Council on National Security that he had convened on the topic, as well as other forums. Radev also mentioned the Consultative Council on National Security held on the eve of Bulgaria’s presidency of the EU Council in 2018, during which he proposed – and it was accepted – that Bulgaria should lead the processes of building a common European defence, ensuring that its defence industry is much more fully integrated into European projects.

"I expect the current regular government to finally commit to the consensus we reached back then, because the results so far have been extremely modest. Many of the people who participated in those councils are now in government and in the National Assembly," the President said.

Bulgaria and Europe face two important tests - ending the bloodshed in Ukraine and overcoming the security deficit, Radev said. In his words, within the last Council in Brussels there was a lot of discussion on the issue of rearmament and almost nothing on ending the war in Ukraine, which is dragging Europe to the bottom, apart from the talk about imposing peace through force, which from the mouth of Europe sounds increasingly unrealistic.

Radev noted that he was in no hurry to join the "fanfare" about the European rearmament plan. He commented on the idea of 800 billion euros from the Recovery and Resilience Plan to be spent on investments in defence and the defence industry, pointing out that it should be clear that there is no such money, but there will be loans and the possibility to refuse structural and cohesion funds. The Head of State expressed his expectation that the Bulgarian government would take a responsible and critical approach to all possible Bulgarian commitments in this case. More important than these funds is the attitude of the state regarding the modernization of the Bulgarian army, the strengthening of the defence industry, which should be a conscious commitment of every government, he said. 

The Bulgarian defence industry can do a lot to strengthen Bulgaria's defence capacity and defence in Europe, the country is increasingly oriented towards high-tech industries, but it should not be forgotten that its main revenue comes from munitions, the President said. According to him, the most important raw material for ammunition is gunpowder, which is increasingly difficult to find on the international market. Radev drew attention to the fact that for more than a year a responsible Bulgarian investor had wanted to invest in the production of gunpowder, but there had been a complete blockade by both the "assemblage" government and the Glavchev government, he said. "I have raised the issue both at the Consultative Council on National Security and at the consultations with the parties, and I hope they will now react," Radev said. According to the Head of State, the first thing the government should do is in terms of defence and to solve the issue of Bulgaria having its own capacity to produce gunpowder.

Answering a question, whether Bulgaria can find its own niche in Europe's defence industry, Radev said that the country already has its own niche, it should be expanded in the production of ammunition, light armaments, and in recent years Bulgaria has had major success in the production of drones and anti-drone systems, optical devices. Radev also noted that cooperation with foreign companies is also necessary and the state should provide the necessary conditions.

The equation is quite complicated, the Head of State said in response to a question whether Bulgaria should abandon infrastructure projects at the expense of loans for rearmament. That is for the Bulgarian government to decide. Many European countries are heavily indebted and are not enthusiastic about this plan because they cannot borrow more. "Are we going to give up structural and cohesion funds - hardly. This is what almost all European countries say," he added. The option that remains is projects that will no longer firmly be the case under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, whether the funds for them can be transferred to the defence industry, but there is a long bureaucratic road to be walked with a still unclear outcome, Radev said.

Asked whether peace in Ukraine was imminent given the international situation, Rumen Radev expressed his greater concern that Europe was the "big missing [party]" in the dialogue that had begun to end the conflict, to ceasefire and sit at the negotiating table. Europe is the most affected, its future and future security architecture depends on it, so Europe can no longer afford to ignore reality and stand on the sidelines with the empty hope of imposing peace from a position of strength, President Radev added. 

More than 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers are encircled in Kursk and are threatened with total annihilation, should this war continue like this or should measures be taken immediately to stop the fire and then seek a diplomatic solution that would guarantee the security of both sides, President Radev responded to a question on whether military aid to Ukraine should continue.