site.btaReArm Europe Reactions of Bulgarian MEPs

Bulgarian MEPs spoke to BTA in Strasbourg on April 2, 2025, about the EU's rearmament plan ReArm Europe. In March, the European Commission presented a White Paper on European Defence – Readiness 2030, and the ReArm Europe/Readiness 2030 Plan to mobilize up to EUR 800 billion for defence investments.

"An honest conversation with voters requires politicians to clearly state that in the coming years we need to invest more seriously in defence,” MEP Nikola Minchev of Renew Europe said in an interview with BTA.

Bulgaria is among the countries that support the view that unspent money under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan can be used for defence. Regarding EU cohesion funds, the Bulgarian government has already made it clear that it does not want such a redistribution because our country relies on them, Minchev said.

Even before US President Donald Trump's first term, there were hints that European countries were expected to take seriously the commitment to allocate 2% of their GDP to defence. Under Donald Trump's second term, Europe now has no choice but to take its own defence into its own hands. This is happening at an extraordinary speed and as a result we see the ReArm Europe 2030 plan, Nikola Minchev added.

It is important that the funds from the EU Rearmament Plan go to the European industry, and to the Bulgarian industry in particular, said Bulgarian MEP Kristian Vigenin of the S&D group in an interview with BTA.

“The government in Bulgaria needs to work very quickly and seriously on the subject of how to modernize factories, especially the large ones, because there are smaller, private ones that have taken up certain niches and are even already producing to NATO standards. Much of our military production works with Soviet-era licences and is exported to areas that still use such weapons,” Vigenin said.

“Within the EU we cannot produce everything we need. There are very substantial imports from the US. The aim should be to become independent of foreign imports. To be sustainable, independent and secure, we need to have an industry that can produce everything we need,” Kristian Vigenin said.

Bulgaria can benefit enormously from the EU's rearmament plans, MEP Ivaylo Valchev of the European Conservatives and Reformists group said in an interview with BTA.

According to Valchev, the plan seems to be a response to recent actions by the US over the past month or two, but it is overly optimistic. For too long, Europe has relied on the peace of mind of having one big ally, Valchev said. Suddenly Europe had to wake up and start making decisions. In his words, the plan explains very well what we all want to happen, but without elaborating exactly how it will happen.

MEP Andrey Novakov of the European People's Party (EPP/GERB) told journalists in Strasbourg that in terms of per capita sales of defence products Bulgaria is far ahead of all other countries. For 2023 Bulgaria exported over BGN 4.2 billion in defence products alone. The industry employs 70,000 people, Novakov said.

“The plan will disburse up to EUR 800 billion and since Bulgaria has one of the best developed defence industries in Europe, I see an opportunity for a significant percentage of this money to stay in Bulgaria,” the MEP said.

“Cohesion money is not for buying bullets or guns. They can be used for infrastructure or innovations that are dual purpose,” Novakov explained and gave the example of satellites. According to a proposal by the European Commission, up to 15% of the money from cohesion funds can be allocated for defence, if the state chooses to do so, he noted.

Speaking on another important topic, Bulgarian MEP Eva Maydell (EPP/GERB) said that the EU would likely have to respond to new US tariffs but remains open to negotiations.

She noted that the looming US tariffs, expected to be announced on Wednesday, cover about EUR 28 billion, and the EU is prepared with countermeasures worth EUR 26 billion. 

Despite the potential conflict, Maydell sees room for dialogue. “I believe President Trump’s administration is putting everything on the table so that different countries and the EU can initiate negotiations,” she said.

Maydell expects the fresh US tariffs to deal a “slight blow” to Europe’s economy but stressed the EU’s status as the largest single market with 450 million consumers. “Right now, global business sees Europe as a place of predictability and security," she said.

On March 4, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a five-part plan to mobilize some EUR 800 billion for Europe's defence. According to the proposition the EU will suspend strict budget rules to allow member states to ramp up their spending on defence. Member states will have the freedom to re-purpose cohesion funds and use them for defence. Von der Leyen proposed EUR 150 billion of loans to member states for defence investment for air and missile defence, artillery systems, missiles and ammunition drones and anti-drone systems.