Re-energising Europe’s Security and Defence Policy
Officiall launch of the Re-energising Europe’s Security and Defence Policy report with the support of Foreign Affairs Committee, Bulgarian National Assembly
Guests
Nick Witney, senior policy fellow at ECFR, Paris
Nickolay Tzonev, Minister of Defence
Chaired by
Vessela Tcherneva, Head of ECFR Sofia Office
The international security situation today demands a concerted effort to revitalise the European Union’s Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). Only cooperation amongst Europeans can eliminate the massive waste associated with the duplication of resources by Member States, and help transform Europe’s armed forces into modern militaries capable of contributing to global security. 2009 should be the year in which Europe’s leaders remake the case for a more active, capable, and coherent European contribution to global security.
Currently, Bulgaria is among the five EU member states that spend more than 2% of GDP on defence, however, it deploys less than 1% of its military manpower in operations. The discussion should focus on Bulgaria’s vision for its future role in ESDP.