Bulgarian Leadership Espouses 'Wider' National Security Strategy

Politics » DOMESTIC | September 17, 2010, Friday // 18:47
Bulgaria: Bulgarian Leadership Espouses 'Wider' National Security Strategy Bulgarian President Parvanov (right) in front of Prime Minister Borisov and the other members of the National Security Council speaks after Friday's 2.5-hour meeting. Photo by Presidency Press Office

Bulgaria's National Security Council has come together around a new position designed to move ahead the adoption of the country's new national security strategy.

The Council, which includes the President, the Parliament Chair, the Prime Minister, the Ministers of Defense, Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Finance, the head of the State National Security Agency (DANS), the Head of Defense (i.e. formerly known as the head of the general staff of the army), and the chairs of all parliamentary groups, convened on Friday for discussions of a draft for a National Security Strategy.

Bulgaria's Deputy PM and Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov presented the draft strategy to the other members of the Council.

According to the formal statement issued subsequently by the Bulgarian Presidency, the participants in Friday's meeting have agreed that Bulgaria's National Security Concept from 1998 has "fulfilled its role" in the period prior to the country's accession to NATO (2005) and the EU (2007), and a new document is needed.

The current draft National Security Strategy has been in discussion since December 2003; it is supposed to take into account Bulgaria's integration with NATO and the European Union as a full member of these organizations, and to focus on the period 2010-2020.

The Presidency has emphasized that the draft was drawn not just by the state institutions but also using the expertise of academia and NGOs; it says the new document focuses on financial, economic, energy, social, and environmental security as well as justice and police, foreign policy and defense, and serves to develop a "national security system."

The Council has adopted "in principle" the proposed National Security Strategy Draft but has explicitly made several points to be considered in its amendment before it is put on a vote in the Parliament.

First, it stresses a "wider understanding of national security" going into the social and economic realm. Second, it points out the importance to protect the individual citizen as well as the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Bulgarian state.

The Council is convinced that internal and international security as well as national and regional, European, Euro-Atlantic, and global security are interconnected, and that this interconnectedness is of crucial importance for Bulgaria.

Its position underscores the responsibility of the three branches of government of and of the President, and prioritizes on "righteous and timely law enforcement."

Lastly, the National Security Council has mentioned that "the armed forces of the Republic of Bulgaria provide for the military security of the country, participate in the collective defense of NATO, and the realization of the common security and defense policy of the EU. In this respect, they are a guarantee for the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of the Republic of Bulgaria."

The Council hopes that the amended draft of the strategy will be adopted unanimously by the Parliament. The Presidency has expressed its satisfaction with Friday's meeting seen as an example that the Bulgarian leadership can achieve consensus when the security of the nation is at stake.

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Tags: Georgi Parvanov, National Security Council, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Boyko Borisov, NATO, EU, EU accession, armed forces, Bulgarian Army, Bulgaria President, Prime Minister

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