The Interdepartmental Council on the participation of Bulgaria in NATO and the Common Security and Defence Policy of the EU held its first meeting for 2014
13 February 2014 News
The first annual regular meeting of the Interdepartmental Council on the participation of Bulgaria in NATO and the Common Security and Defence Policy of the EU was held today at the MFA, under the chairmanship of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Kristian Vigenin. The meeting was attended by the Deputy Minister of Defense Ivan Ivanov, representatives of the Presidential Administration, the Ministries of Interior, Justice, Finance, Economy and Energy, as well as the national intelligence services.
In his opening statement, the Foreign Minister pointed out that the NATO summit, which will be held in autumn 2014, will to a great extent define the future development of the Alliance. In this regard, our country must be an effective participant in the preparation of the meeting by presenting timely and consistent positions in various work formats, he said.
The participants discussed the Bulgarian position on the topics on the agenda of the NATO defense ministers’ meeting, scheduled for 26-27 February in Brussels, in the context of the preparations of the NATO summit. At the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs it was decided to create an interdepartmental working group to analyze the possibilities for cooperation and to prepare proposals for implementation of the Concept of framework nation.
Minister Vigenin presented reports on the implementation of decisions taken at the previous meeting and briefed the Council on the progress of the implementation of the National Plan to mark the 10th anniversary of Bulgaria's membership in NATO, created by an interdepartmental working group of representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense, the administration of the President and the National Assembly, and others. A major event in the plan will be an international conference, organized by the Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will be held at the beginning of April in Sofia.
The process of Bulgaria’s preparation for the negotiations with Libya and the U.S. on the possibilities to train Libyan troops in Bulgaria was also discussed at the meeting. The participants exchanged views also onBulgaria’s position on the multilateral consultations on the implementation of the package aims to abilities that will take place on 20 February in Brussels, including the legal framework for deploying civilian specialists.
The results of the European Council on Security and Defence, which took place in December 2013, were presented to the participants in the meeting. The proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to establish a working group to identify the next priority actions, according to the mandate approved by the Council of Ministers, was approved.
The agenda of the meeting also included a discussion of the possibilities for a possible contribution of our country to the CSDP operation in the Central African Republic. Bulgaria has provided political support for the operation in the process of its planning, pointed out Minister Vigenin.
The Council members discussed the problems associated with the cyber protection of Bulgaria and emphasized the need for coordinated action between the actors involved in these issues. The work on the preparation of the national strategy on cyber – defense is expected to be finalized soon.