"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."
Caretaker Minister of the Environment and Water, Petar Dimitrov, says he does not think there was a problem in the location of the air quality measuring stations. A week ago, in an interview with BNR, lawyer Dimitar Ploshtakov..
The number of victims of trafficking since the beginning of the year is 55, as 41 of the victims are women, Antoaneta Dimitrova from the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings has reported. According to her, for..
A Bulgarian siphoned 2.2 million pounds from the money of British taxpayers, the "Sunday Telegraph" reports. The scheme involved flying Bulgarians to Britain, transporting them to jobcenters to apply for benefits and returning them to..
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..
Construction of the National Children's Hospital will begin in June next year , interim Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said at a briefing. The..
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