site.btaDefence Minister: Increased Military Spending Will Be Implemented Smoothly, Should Not Impact Economy

The increase in military spending will be carried out smoothly and should in no way affect the growth of the economy, Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov said in an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio on Sunday.

Zapryanov said that the NATO Summit in The Hague, which took place earlier in June, was a historic summit, because it reaffirmed the role of NATO's Article 5, that the US and Canada remain committed to the security and defence of Europe, that defence spending is being increased to 5% of each country's gross domestic product by 2035. Of that spending, 3.5% will be spent on military capabilities, while the remaining 1,5% will be earmarked for sustainability, mobility and infrastructure. These funds will enable a significant increase in the alliance's military capabilities. Bulgaria's defence plans will become realistically secured with real military capabilities, Zapryanov said.

The Minister described the unity and cost increases as historic. In his view, what matters the most is that NATO will have the necessary capabilities for containment and defence in all areas. He noted the new package of collective defence capabilities that states and governments adopted in The Hague. He indicated that the Ministry of Defence will launch a strategic review of the armed forces to make plans on how it will achieve the increase in Bulgaria's national capabilities and Bulgaria's contribution to collective defence.

Zapryanov said that Bulgaria finds itself in a favourable position due to the fact that the National Assembly adopted the programme for investment in defence until 2032. There are still projects that have not started, but the main projects have already been defined and backed in Parliament, which facilitates the work of the government.

The Minister of Defence said that the European Commission's decision to create the European Security Instrument and investments of EUR 150 billion for real defence capabilities and industries plus another EUR 650 billion for industrial development comes at a very opportune moment for the modernization of Bulgaria's armed forces. Zapryanov stressed that the increase in military spending should not affect the growth of the economy, because militarizing the budgets without real economy growth would mean that the necessary effect will not be achieved. The financial stability in the country will remain, the government programme will be implemented as adopted, and the increased efforts in the field of defence spending for modernization will come from European instruments, which are very advantageous with a ten-year grace period, Zapryanov said.