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

Bulgaria's Defence Minister says Bulgaria should turn from a consumer into a security provider

Defence Minister Dragomir Zakov
Photo: BGNES

If circumstances require, Bulgaria will have to work seriously with its NATO allies, Defence Minister Dragomir Zakov said after the NATO emergency meeting. "There is no way we can fill deficits without working with our NATO allies on our territory," he stressed. Dragomir Zakov described as "critical" the situation in the Bulgarian Air Force and added that in the long run Bulgaria would have to turn from a security consumer into a security provider.

The Minister did not rule out the possibility of Bulgaria requesting an increase in the Alliance's presence in the event of a deepening conflict in Ukraine. 
"If the crisis develops and directly threatens Bulgaria, there are measures for a serious presence on Bulgarian territory," he said. According to him, we are currently relying on a battle group with a multinational element, led by Bulgaria and under the control of the Commander-in-Chief of NATO forces in Europe. 
Requests to join the battle group from a number of countries will be announced soon, the minister said.



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

Within the space of 1 month, Bulgaria is mentioned 7 times as a country connected with dangerous food

In September, Bulgaria was mentioned as a country connected with dangerous food 7 times, indicate data of the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), BNR’s Vesselina Milanova reports. Over the same period this country has reported..

published on 10/21/25 3:09 PM
PM Rosen Zhelyazkov

Cabinet allocates 15,000 leva to be paid out to heirs of people who lost their lives in the floods

The legal heirs of the people who lost their lives during the flooding in the region of Burgas at the beginning of October will receive 15,000 leva (EUR 7,670), the government has decided, BGNES reports. The 60,000 leva (EUR 30,679) needed has been..

published on 10/21/25 2:58 PM
Tzvetan Spassov, Smilen Valov and Dimitar Kolarov

More and more Bulgarians living abroad want to return to their country

The tendency of Bulgarians returning from abroad is permanent. This became apparent during the forum “Europe is with me”, organized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy’s Human Resources Development Programme, the Bulgarian news agency BTA..

published on 10/21/25 2:31 PM