site.bta2024 Defence Budget Has Increased by Over 60% Compared to 2022 - Defence Minister

The defence budget for 2024 has increased by over 60% compared to 2022, outgoing Minister of Defence Todor Tagarev said here on Friday at the national conference "20 years of Bulgaria in NATO: Because We Are Stronger Together".

"We are already investing heavily in the defence capabilities of our Armed Forces. In parallel, we are working towards closer integration within NATO," he said, adding that he believes that NATO's European pillar will be strengthened. "Significant strengthening and assumption of much greater responsibility," the Minister said.

"We are part of a free, democratic world where people's rights are respected, as is international law. Without NATO membership, we would probably not have received an invitation to join the European Union," Todor Tagarev added.

At the turn of the century, according to the GDP per capita criterion, Bulgaria's defence budget was 25% of the EU average, reaching 62% of the EU average in 2022. "We are now surely surpassing 65%," the Minister said. In his words, NATO is not only a military alliance, but also a solid prerequisite for improving people's well-being, for a free life and democratic development.

"Joining NATO does not solve our problems with a magic wand, this is not possible. For many years our membership was perceived as a guarantee owed to us by others, not as our own responsibility," the Minister said.

The forum is held under the auspices of the government. It is organized by the Diplomatic Institute under the Minister of Foreign Affairs, together with the Information Centre of the Ministry of Defence, the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria and the Sofia Security Forum.