site.btaDefence Minister: National Plan for Increasing Defence Budget Will Be Drawn Up

A national plan to increase the defence budget will be drawn up, Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov told journalists in Parliament on Thursday.

NATO allies agreed at the annual NATO summit in late June to increase their defence spending to 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP). Alliance member states will spend 3.5% of GDP on basic defence, such as troops and weapons, and 1.5% on broader defence-related measures, such as cybersecurity, pipeline protection, and adapting roads and bridges for heavy military vehicles.

Before starting to make this plan, other decisions will have to be taken at EU level, the minister said. This concerns the allocation of funds under the SAFE mechanism for countries, once it becomes clear which country has what funds available under this instrument and which projects it can finance. Only then will there be complete financial clarity to draw up a national plan to increase the budget to 3.5% for capabilities plus 1.5% for infrastructure, cybersecurity, sustainability, etc., Atanas Zapryanov added.

This clause allows us not to include in inflation the capital expenditures that we will invest in modernizing our armed forces, said the minister regarding the permission granted by the EU Council on Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) for Bulgaria and 14 other member states to deviate from the bloc's strict budget rules in order to take on additional debt for defence spending. Zapryanov specified that the permission takes effect in 2025.