EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton’s visit to Bulgaria on Wednesday (March 15) sparked speculation about pressure being put on Sofia to send ammunition to Ukraine, a particularly sensitive topic two weeks before a snap election in the country.
The European Commissioner visited the city of Sopot, where the largest Bulgarian arms and ammunition factory, VMZ, is located, and held meetings with representatives of the country’s arms industry.
“The EU must urgently increase ammunition production to ensure its own security. I visit countries whose defense industries are ready to increase their capacity. I start with Bulgaria, because your country has a long history in the defense industry and is a very important partner in Europe”, declared Mr. Breton to journalists.
According to Mr. Breton, the war in Ukraine is depleting the reserves of the EU and NATO. He also recalled the commitment made by NATO member states to increase the financing of their armies to 2% of their GDP.
Over the next few days, Mr Breton is expected to visit eleven other EU member states with the aim of encouraging them to increase their national arms production.
Mr Breton’s ‘defence tour’ comes as EU foreign and defense ministers are expected to give the green light to a €2bn plan to resupply Ukraine and replenish stockpiles of ammunition from Europe, based on an EU proposal seen by EURACTIV earlier this month.
As a first step, it is proposed to use an additional billion euros of European funds to obtain ammunition for Ukraine from existing stocks – in particular 155 mm artillery shells – and to send them immediately .
As a second step, the plan foresees that the Member States agree on a common purchase of 155 mm ammunition from the Union’s defense agency and sign the first contracts as early as next month “for a period seven years”.
The third stage aims to ensure a long-term increase in European ammunition production and boost production by defense industries across the bloc to maintain supply.
Bulgarian stocks
Thierry Breton specified that his visit was intended to “assess [the situation] and to discuss” and that any concrete proposals would only be presented at a later stage.
“I think if our industry wants to seize this opportunity because the demand is there, we have to show that we are capable of supplying Europe with what the Member States need. As Commissioner for the Internal Market, also in charge of the defense industry, I would prefer that the profits go to our European companies,” he stressed.
Bulgaria is one of the largest European producers of Soviet-type ammunition, which the Ukrainian army particularly needs and which the Western allies cannot supply.
The country also exports huge quantities of small arms and ammunition to Ukraine, but avoids direct trade, as two separate EURACTIV surveys have shown.
The Bulgarian military has delivered just one shipment of military aid to Ukraine since the country’s parliament approved the aid last December. The country’s caretaker government has announced that there will be no second delivery until the next parliament takes power and makes a decision. Bulgaria is without a parliament awaiting the early elections which will take place on 2nd April next.
On Tuesday, EU member states increased funding for the European Peace Facility to nearly €8 billion until 2027. Under the facility, Kyiv has received aid seven times since the start of the war last February.
In light of Mr. Breton’s visit, Kornelia Ninova, the leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party ( Bulgarska sotsialisticheska partiya , BSP), a Russophile party, attacked President Rumen Radev for allegedly changing his stance on sending arms to Ukraine.
Ms. Ninova quoted Mr. Radev, who said earlier this year that “providing military aid to Ukraine is like putting out a fire with gasoline.”
“What made you change your position, Mr. President?” she asked.
Ms Ninova also warned Mr Radev against any action that could implicate Bulgaria in this conflict, as it would face “strong resistance from the majority of Bulgarian society”.
Ms Ninova was deputy prime minister and economy minister in Kiril Petkov’s government when the war broke out. Already at the time, she had sworn that her ministry would not authorize the export of “a single ammunition” to Ukraine.
Later, Mr. Petkov admitted that Bulgaria had exported record quantities of weapons and diesel fuel to Ukraine, through intermediaries. The representatives of the official authorities in kyiv have moreover openly acknowledged Bulgaria’s exceptional contribution to the Ukrainian war effort.
Fake news
After Mr. Breton’s visit, some Bulgarian media reported that he was pressuring the government in Sofia to increase ammunition production and exports to Ukraine.
The press center of the Council of Ministers presented a completely different interpretation of the visit, indicating that Bulgaria simply wanted to increase the capacity of its defense industry and that it welcomed EU support in this direction.
Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov dismissed claims that a new deal was being prepared for the supply of arms to Ukraine, calling them “absolutely manipulative”.
“Society should know what the Bulgarian army provides to Ukraine, if it does in the future. Such a decision must be ratified by the National Assembly,” Stoyanov said.
Public data shows that the Bulgarian arms industry is mainly export-oriented to countries such as Ukraine, which use Russian weapons. Last year, exports exceeded one billion euros. In Sopot, ammunition is produced according to Soviet standards.
Source: euractiv
