The defence budget should become at least 2.5% of GDP, as 2 percent is not enough, Chief of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov, said in an interview with 24chasa.bg. The compensation Bulgaria receives for the aid to Ukraine will fund the deal to buy the new IRIS-T air defence system.

The advantage of transport corridor No. 8 is the ability for rapid transfer of troops from Italy through Albania and North Macedonia to Bulgaria, the admiral points out and calls for combining the capabilities of NATO and the EU in the construction of the East-West and North-South transport corridors in the Balkans. 

Two bridges on the Danube are extremely insufficient and this is our most critical point, the admiral said. He added that the recent joint operation in the Black Sea with ships from Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey was successful, as at least 17 mines were destroyed in July.