"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."
A meeting of the coalition partners took place early this morning, during a sitting of the National Assembly, to discuss the possible reformatting of the government. Such a change was first made mention of by GERB leader Boyko Borissov after his party..
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..
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..
The President of the “Renew Europe” group in the European Parliament, Valérie Hayer, called on the European Commission to urgently send a mission to..
On Thursday, minimum temperatures will range between 6 and 11°C across the country. Along the Black Sea coast, they will reach 13 to 16°C , while in Sofia..
Legislative amendments banning individuals sanctioned under the global Magnitsky law from holding senior government or party positions will likely be..
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