Agence France-Presse,
SOFIA: Bulgarian Defence Minister Vesselin Bliznakov said Wednesday that NATO had voiced “profound concerns” over Bulgaria's delay in military modernisation projects for lack of funding, the state BTA agency reported.
On his return from talks with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Brussels, Bliznakov added that NATO had insisted that Bulgaria complete at least its three priority projects for new vehicles, aircraft and transport helicopters.
The government has yet to finalise a contract with the Eurocopter company, part of the European defence group EADS, to buy 18 new Panther AS323 and Cougar AS352 transport helicopters for its armed forces.
The government also has to follow up a contract with the Italian firm Alenia Aeronautica, part of the Finmeccanica Group, that won in April a tender to supply eight C-27 J Spartan military transport planes, Bliznakov added.
The Bulgarian armed forces were also due to receive this year a shipment of 90 Daimler-Chryslerr vehicles under a contract it signed in 2003, aimed to replace some 15,000 military vehicles between now and 2015.
But last week the government did not include the three projects in a list of deals to receive state guarantees and the Bulgarian press has speculated that lack of funding might force the defence ministry to defer them.
Bliznakov played down the reports Wednesday and said that the three projects might be only reexamined to downsize the amount of equipment.
The 24 Hours daily newspaper commented that the number of aircraft might be reduced from eight to two and that only 1,400 Daimler-Chrysler vehicles would bought.
Bliznakov said he did not plan to reduce the order for transport helicopters as they were indispensable for the mission of the Bulgarian troop contingent in Afghanistan, which will be charged with the security of the airport of Kabul in 2006.
