Bulgaria's 2025 Draft Budget: Deficit at 3% of GDP, Focus on Fiscal Stability
The Bulgarian Ministry of Finance has unveiled the draft State Budget for 2025, revealing a planned deficit of 6.4 billion leva
Bulgaria’s Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev has called an extraordinary meeting of the consultative Defence Council for Wednesday to discuss cuts in the remuneration packages of armed forces staff planned in the 2016 budget draft.
The potential risk of many members of the military leaving the armed forces as a result of the planned cuts will be the main item on the agenda of the meeting, the Defence Ministry announced on Tuesday.
The Defence Council brings together the Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence, their deputies, as well as the chiefs of the land, sea and air forces.
The planned cuts sought by the Finance Ministry will curb the social rights of the armed forces staff, according to the statement.
The decision for the extraordinary meeting came as police officers blocked traffic in the central part of Sofia on Tuesday to protest planned cuts in the compensation packages paid upon retirement and the extra remuneration received for each year in service.
Earlier on Wednesday Nenchev described as ‘extremely good’ the government’s decision to allocate to spending on defence 1.34% of Gross Domestic Product next year.
The cabined approved the 2016 budget draft last week.
Under the draft’s initial version, defence spending was projected at BGN 1.007 B, or 1.13% of GDP. A further BGN 160 M was added later specifically for the purchase of new military hardware, distributed equally between the Navy and the Air DForce, Nenchev explained.
The ongoing NATO exercise Steadfast Dart 2025, which runs from January 8 to February 22 across Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania, aims to enhance the Alliance's readiness and adaptability
A total of over 234.3 million leva, excluding VAT, has been allocated for four urgent construction and installation contracts at Graf Ignatievo Airport
Bulgaria's airport operators have agreed on the need to implement anti-drone systems at all international airports in the country
Anton Zlatanov, the head of the Border Police, spoke to BNT about the need for anti-drone systems at all strategic locations in Bulgaria, including airports
By the end of September, Bulgaria is set to receive eight F-16 Block 70 fighter jets
The Bulgarian Ministry of Defense has reported a significant rise in the number of individuals interested in joining the military
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