Opportunities for participation of Bulgarian industry in EU and NATO initiatives in the field of defence and security were discussed
‘Bulgarian companies are actively participating in NATO tenders, and in 2022 alone our companies have signed contracts worth over EUR 26 million.’ This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry Irina Shtonova during the conference ‘Growing Needs for Support of the Defence Industry and Opportunities for Innovation’. This forum is the first event on the calendar to mark the 20th anniversary of Bulgaria’s accession to NATO.
During the event, Deputy Minister Shtonova also pointed out that the Ministry of Economy and Industry provides opportunities for participation of Bulgarian enterprises from the defence sector in EU programmes to strengthen the competitiveness and innovation capacity of the sector, such as the European Defence Fund. In 2022, 9 out of 41 projects approved for funding under the Fund have Bulgarian participation. In addition, she recalled that Bulgarian ammunition manufacturers have been given the chance to expand their production capacity with EU grant funding under the ASAP programme. The programme starts in July 2023 and will run until 2025.ASAP has a budget of EUR 500 million and will offer financial support to European companies, munitions and missile manufacturers. ‘This instrument is a serious opportunity to develop new capacities in the sector as well as to increase or restructure existing production lines,’ Nikola Stojanov explained. It is expected that the Bulgarian companies that have applied with projects under the ASAP programme will receive the results in early March this year,’ Deputy Minister Shtonova further explained.
The conference discussed the future of the European defence industry. Opportunities for innovation in the sector to strengthen Europe’s capacity to respond to current and future security and defence challenges were explored.
During the event, Deputy Minister Shtonova held meetings with the representative of the European Commission, Timo Pesonen, and with the representatives of the two NATO agencies, Alan McLeod and Antonio Calderon. They discussed the future EU and NATO initiatives in the field of defence and security and the opportunities for Bulgarian industry to participate in them.
The forum was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariya Gabriel, Minister of Defence Todor Tagarev, Minister of Innovation and Growth Milena Stoicheva, Chairman of the Defence Committee of the National Assembly Hristo Gadzhev, Director General of the Directorate General for Defence Industry and Space at the European Commission, Timo Pesonen, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Innovation, Hybrid and Cyber Challenges, David van Weel, NATO Maintenance and Acquisition Agency Director for Life Cycle Management, Allan McLeod, NATO Communications and Information Agency Director for Technology, Antonio Calderon and others.
The event is organised by the Ministry of Defence, in association with the Department for Innovation and Growth and the Department of Business and Industry.