Meeting of the Interdepartmental Council on NATO
22 December 2012 News
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nickolay Mladenov, and the Minister of Defence, Anyu Angelov, today took part in a regular meeting of the Interdepartmental Council on the participation of Bulgaria in NATO and in the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union.
Minister Mladenov briefed the Council on the results of the meeting in early December of NATO foreign ministers and the European Council Conclusions on Common Security and Defence Policy. “With the deployment of Patriot missile systems in Turkey, NATO is sending a strong signal of allied solidarity, the systems will have only a defensive role and are not intended for the establishment of a no-fly zone or any other offensive operation,” the Foreign Minister said. The NATO ministerial meeting gave a high assessment to the transition process in Afghanistan, emphasised the necessity of keeping to the timeframe for this transition, while also continuing the planning of the Alliance’s new mission for training and assistance in Afghanistan after 2015. Minister Mladenov also briefed the Council on his visit to the Caucasus and in particular with his meetings with the new government in Tbilisi. “The new Georgian government is continuing to pursue democratic reforms and the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the country,” Minister Mladenov said. Of the conclusions of the December European Council, the Foreign Minister noted the decision of the EU member states to overcome the lack of development of defence capabilities. A further accent is the development of civilian capabilities in crisis management and the competitiveness of the European defence industry.
Defence Minister Anyu Angelov, who is deputy chairman of the Interdepartmental Council, spoke on the topic of cyber security and the Bulgarian contribution to providing reliable digital platforms. “Of crucial significance is the development of a functioning national mechanism for prevention and protection in cyberspace,” Minister Angelov said. He spoke of the current challenges and risks in the internet and the need for close institutional co-ordination at national, European and Allied level on this matter. At the meeting, Minister Angelov and Deputy Defence Minister Avgustina Tsvetkova presented updated information on the projects “Building Integrity” and “Women in Security and Defence” in which Bulgaria is a leading country. The “Building Integrity” project was approved in early October at a meeting in Sarajevo of defence ministers of SEDM, the Southeastern European Defence Ministerial. It was developed in close co-operation with NATO and is aimed at promoting best practices for establishing transparency and accountability in the defence sector. The official start of the project was on December 13 at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. In the framework of the NATO “Smart Defence”, Bulgaria is a leading country in one of the priority projects, “Women in Security and Defence”. In July this year, Bulgaria hosted the first high-level conference on “Use of human potential in the process of capacity building”. In February 2013, the project will be presented at NATO Headquarters in Brussels to Permanent Representatives of member states of NATO and partner countries.
The next meeting of the Interdepartmental Council on NATO will take place in March 2013.