"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."
Bulgaria is a leader in the export of agricultural products to China among Central and Eastern European countries, caretaker Minister of Agriculture and Food Georgi Tahov said at a meeting with the Chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs..
Some of the largest Bulgarian companies with over 1,000 employees have received invitations for meetings at the country’s police directorates. The summoned owners and CEOs have signed declarations that they will not promote voter coercion by employers..
The minimum wage will be set at BGN 1,077 (EUR 545) from next year, caretaker Minister of Labor and Social Policy Ivaylo Ivanov told bTV. ''The Labour Code stipulates that the minimum wage is calculated as 50% of the average wage. The government is..
A fire broke out in the Varna office of a party which was represented in the last National Assembly and which is contesting the forthcoming elections on 27..
Caretaker Minister of the Environment and Water, Petar Dimitrov, says he does not think there was a problem in the location of the air..
A Bulgarian siphoned 2.2 million pounds from the money of British taxpayers, the "Sunday Telegraph" reports. The scheme involved flying..
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