Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Bulgarian Chief of Defence calls for increase in military spending

Photo: BGNES

The defence budget should become at least 2.5% of GDP, as 2 percent is not enough, Chief of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov, said in an interview with 24chasa.bg. The compensation Bulgaria receives for the aid to Ukraine will fund the deal to buy the new IRIS-T air defence system.

The advantage of transport corridor No. 8 is the ability for rapid transfer of troops from Italy through Albania and North Macedonia to Bulgaria, the admiral points out and calls for combining the capabilities of NATO and the EU in the construction of the East-West and North-South transport corridors in the Balkans. 

Two bridges on the Danube are extremely insufficient and this is our most critical point, the admiral said. He added that the recent joint operation in the Black Sea with ships from Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey was successful, as at least 17 mines were destroyed in July.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Over 108,000 workers from 64 non-EU countries have come to Bulgaria in 6 years

The import of manpower from non-EU countries is record high, but does not cover the needs of the business sector. Since the beginning of the year, 4,202 third-country nationals have been registered for seasonal employment alone. This is 40% of the..

published on 3/18/25 9:41 AM

Bulgaria declares National Day of Mourning in memory of the victims of Kocani nightclub fire

March 18, 2025 has been declared a National Day of Mourning in memory of the young people who died in the tragic fire in a nightclub in the town of  Kočani, Republic of North Macedonia . The decision to this effect was made yesterday by the Bulgarian..

published on 3/18/25 8:55 AM

After summer-like temperatures, snow is coming

At night, the wind will shift from the north-northeast and bring in cold air. On Tuesday, cloudy weather will prevail. In many places there will be snowfalls. The lowest temperatures will be between minus 1°C and 4°C; in Sofia -..

published on 3/17/25 6:45 PM