site.btaBulgaria, France to Sign Agreement for Joint Acquisition of 3D Radars, Defence Minister Says

The defence ministries of Bulgaria and France will conclude an agreement for the joint acquisition of 3D radars, said Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov during a hearing in the parliamentary committee on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Bulgaria's Council of Ministers adopted a decision terminating a procedure for the existence of an essential security interest which has to be protected in the cases under Item 2 of Article 149 (1) of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) upon the implementation of an investment project for the procurement of new 3D radars. The Government approved the initiation of a new procedure under Article 9 of the PPA for the award of a public procurement jointly with contracting entities from other NATO Member States.

With the decision of the Council of Ministers, a government-to-government procedure is being followed and a contract will be signed between the Ministry of Defence of Bulgaria and the Ministry of Defence of France, Zapryanov said.

According to him, under this change, the 3D radar project becomes legitimate for funding under the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) mechanism, as it falls under the European Commission's requirement for joint acquisition between EU Member States.

"We will sign a framework agreement with the French Defence Minister in Paris on Monday. It is not financially binding, but it is a guarantee that when Bulgaria prepares the list of projects and submits them to the European Commission (EC) for approval for funding under the SAFE mechanism, we will have a document that we have concluded an agreement with the government of France and proceed to the joint acquisition of these radars," Zapryanov said.

After the signing of the agreement, a request from Bulgaria to the EC will follow and the project will be included. After the approval of the procedure and the approval of the financing, the agreement will be developed in detail with the French government, the Minister further explained.

Regarding the improvement of infrastructure at the Graf Ignatievo Air Base, the Defence Minister said that the backlog has been caught up, especially for sensitive sites, which has allowed the new F-16 aircraft to come.