The document would have to be further approved by the parliament until the end of the year. The new plan will likely boost Bulgaria’s defence spending to bring it closer to the 2% cap agreed by NATO member states during the Wales Summit. Since then, NATO has been urging its members to increase their spending.

Bulgaria will try to reach the 2% cap until 2020. Its defence budget will increase next year from 1.2% to 1.35 of the GDP. The allocations of the defence budget per se will also change. Currently, the proportion is 73:21:6 between expenditures on staff, maintenance and procurement. A ratio that is quite common on many Eastern European countries. However, the new plan will bring those ratios closer to those of NATO countries. It is expected that it will be 60:20:20.

That will allow the Bulgarian Armed Forces to procure and induct new equipment while replacing obsolete or legacy systems and platforms. As for the level of manpower, the Plan assumes a force of no less than 37,000 and no more than 42,000.

However, the Bulgarian government could eventually pass an amendment in its legislation, that will allow the protection of its national airspace policing to be undertaken in cooperation with NATO allies. Romania, Slovenia and other countries in the region perform joint patrol missions with their NATO counterparts. Due to lack of funds and modern interoperable platforms, they have given the permission on the Alliance to strengthen regional security, in light of the crisis in Ukraine.