The defence committee in Bulgaria’s parliament has turned down a proposal to reinstate the universal military conscription.

Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev told the committee on Thursday that a return to the military draft will require a considerable increase in budget spending, public broadcaster BNR reported.

Moreover, a mandatory military service of less than a year wouldn’t be long enough to ensure comprehensive initial military training, Nenchev added.

The proposal to reintroduce the draft was put forward by the nationalist Patriotic Front (PF), which supports the minority coalition government in parliament but has no cabinet ministers.

PF co-chairman Krasimir Karakachanov told the committee that Bulgaria’s professional army of some 30,000 servicemen was too small to defend the country in case of need. He added that military conscription could exist alongside professional army, according to BNR.

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