Bulgarian armed forces only partially able to defend country: report

The Bulgarian armed forces are "only partially able" to perform their obligations on ensuring the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the country, a report said here on Wednesday.

This was due to a "number of difficulties caused by systemic financial deficiency, increasing shortage of personnel and outdated weapons and military equipment," said the annual report on the status of Bulgaria's defense and the armed forces, which was approved by the caretaker government.

Despite efforts to recruit and retain, personnel shortages continued to deepen, said the report as cited by the Government Information Service (GIS).

"The report outlines the need to adopt urgent and complex measures related to the implementation of a policy for sustainable career development of people in defense, seeking opportunities to increase the salaries of servicemen, their social status and raising the prestige of the military profession," the GIS said.

Meanwhile, the "radically changed security environment" required an immediate increase in the defense budget to 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the report said.

According to official data, Bulgaria's defense budget has decreased from 2.96 percent of GDP in 2000, to 2.33 percent in 2008, and 1.22 percent in 2016. Endi