"The Bulgarian army is currently 5,600 soldiers short. One of the reasons is the low starting salary of 608 Leva a month," said Defence Minister Krasimir Karakachanov. In his words the most serious problem is that around 30-40 percent of the people applying for professional soldiers are unfit for reasons of health or education.
He added that before a conscription army can be reinstated, for which he says he will be supported by GERB party, the number of military education classes at school must be increased and voluntary service introduced.
Karakachanov says further that the EU is not ready to set up a single defence structure, an idea Bulgaria supports:
"Bulgaria is in favour of the formation of such a defence structure but that is a process. Seeing as we have NATO, this compatibility must be looked into, how a European defence will fit into the picture. There are European countries which are not members of NATO. There are European countries which are more skeptical, others are more enthusiastic like France and Germany."
Full EU membership is neither the end of the story nor a solution to all problems. Realism and accurate self-assessment must guide important decisions, said MP Toma Bikov on behalf of the GERB-SDS parliamentary group after Bulgaria's accession to the..
An online currency converter is now available on the official website for the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria: evroto.bg. Following the official announcement of the exchange rate of 1.95583 leva to one euro, the calculator has been made easily..
The EU's Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) has allowed Bulgaria and 14 other EU countries to exceed their budget limits in order to boost defence spending . This will enable the countries to take on additional debt for defence purposes...
The EU's Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) has allowed Bulgaria and 14 other EU countries to exceed their budget limits in order to boost..
Full EU membership is neither the end of the story nor a solution to all problems. Realism and accurate self-assessment must guide important decisions,..
The ministers of agriculture of Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania have signed a joint declaration concerning the agricultural aspects of..
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