Bulgaria and 9 other ЕU countries are not participating in the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine, President Rumen Radev said in Brussels ahead of the European Council summit. 17 countries agreed to joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine. "Bulgaria is committed to producing projectiles for the needs of our partners, if they request it, not for Ukraine", President Radev added. 

In his words, Bulgaria would expand the capacity of its defence industry to replenish national stocks and help other member states replenish theirs, provided that the weapons sold would not be re-exported to Ukraine.

President Rumen Radev is to represent Bulgaria at the European Council summit opening in Brussels today.

During the two-day summit, the EU leaders will discuss the latest developments in relation to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and continued EU support for Ukraine. They will also debate on competitiveness, single market and the economy, energy, external relations and other topics, including migration. /BNR

On his arrival in Brussels on Thursday for the two-day European Council summit, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev told reporters that Bulgaria is becoming a guarantor of the energy security of its partners in the region.

He said Sofia's proposal to link up the gas transmission networks of Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria had received very high praise. This will make it possible to transmit Azeri gas supplies. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev is going to pay a visit to Bulgaria. A memorandum will be signed, turning Bulgaria from a country through which Russian gas was transited into an active distributor of gas from various sources, Radev said.

The President said the caretaker government had not waived EU funding for energy transition. He put down a statement by European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira to a misunderstanding. This year Bulgaria is to get EUR 800 million provided it submits plans by the year's end, Radev said.

Ferreira said on Tuesday the Commission had been informed by the government in Sofia that this year it would not be interested in starting the implementation of the Just Transition Plan./BTA