Atlantic Council

In a candid, off-the-record discussion of U.S.-Bulgarian strategic partnership, the Atlantic Council hosted Bulgarian Minister of Defense Anyu Angelov on July 1 for a Strategic Advisors Group strategy session.  Entitled “Bulgarian-American Strategic Defense Partnership: NATO’s South-Eastern Flank and Beyond,” the session focused on Bulgarian defense priorities, including Afghanistan, the NATO Strategic Concept, NATO missile defense, defense cooperation in South Eastern Europe, and reform of the Bulgarian armed forces. Frederick Kempe, Atlantic Council President and CEO, hosted this strategy session, which was moderated by Damon Wilson, Vice President and Director of the International Security Program.  Atlantic Council SAG member and former Bulgarian Minister of Defense Boyko Noev introduced Minister Angelov.    
 
Bulgarian Minister of Defense Prioritizes Transatlantic Partnership

Minister Anyu Angelov came to Washington to deliver an important message of partnership, cooperation and reform.  He caught the attention of busy policy-makers and opinion-shapers as he backed up his message with a credible and tangible defense and security agenda, reminding Washington of the value of the U.S.-Bulgarian alliance.

During his visit, which included a broad and candid July 1st strategy session with the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Advisors Group (SAG), Angelov made clear Bulgaria’s strong support of transatlantic partnership amidst the challenges the country faces domestically and regionally.  Specifically, the Minister:

• received support for his call for NATO to develop Article 5 contingency plans for Southeast Europe just as NATO has for other regions of the Alliance and is now developing for northeastern Europe;
• demonstrated Bulgaria’s willingness to stand firm on Afghanistan, and even plan for increasing its presence, should the Alliance effort require additional support in 2011-12 at a time when most allies are contemplating drawing down;
• urged the United States to better use the defense access agreements signed in 2007 to advance Secretary Gates’ vision of developing the capacity of our closest partners and to enhance the capabilities of both the United States and host nations, Bulgaria and Romania;
• stressed Bulgaria's backing for multinational approaches to defense, the only viable way to grow capabilities in a severely resource-constrained environment;
• offered the prospect of an enhanced strategic partnership working with Romania to engage the United States as a cohesive regional pillar within the Alliance;
• underscored Bulgaria’s support for and willingness to play a role in phased adaptive approach to missile defense; and
• explained Bulgaria’s resolve to maintain and improve its air defense capabilities through acquiring new fighter aircraft.

Angelov expressed the desire of the Bulgarian government to strengthen the U.S.-Bulgarian strategic partnership and to enhance the cohesion of the Alliance.  His substantive, well-prepared agenda underscored his seriousness as an interlocutor for Secretary Gates. 

His message of reform, cooperation and support comes at a crucial time as NATO negotiates a new Strategic Concept, faces important decisions on missile defense at the November Lisbon summit, and is in need of political cohesion and military support for the ISAF mission in Afghanistan.  It also comes at a time when the United States is deliberating on the future of its force posture in Europe .

Multilateral Cooperation: Defense on a Budget

The financial crisis has hit European defense budgets hard.  Bulgaria is no exception.  To reflect budgetary realities, the Bulgarian government is cutting defense spending by 30% in the upcoming year.  These budgetary constraints at a time of significant expeditionary operations (accounting for more than 10% of Bulgaria’s defense budget) limit the options available to the Ministry of Defence.  Nonetheless, Minister Angelov is using this reality to strengthen his hand to engage in a robust, top-down reform of the Bulgarian armed forces.  These reforms will enable the ministry not only to save costs, but also to make investments in equipment and capabilities to serve as a more effective partner of the United States and NATO in military operations.

Defense Reform

To cut costs without sacrificing capabilities, Angelov and his team have undertaken an ambitious program of reform early in the tenure of Prime Minister Borissov’s government rather than postponing tough choices until later.  It is in this challenging environment that the Ministry of Defense elaborates a new defense whitepaper and a new national security strategy, due later this year.

Bulgaria and Romania:  Security Partners

The Bulgarian government has made regional defense cooperation and integration a top priority, as part of its goal of strengthening NATO through the creation of regional pillars and arrangements.  As neighbors and fellow NATO members with a shared strategic vision for the Black Sea region and the Balkans, Bulgaria and Romania have undertaken a joint effort aimed at: 

• more effective joint use of their current and future defense capabilities, to possibly include modernization programs;
• joint approach to a stronger mil-mil engagement with the United States in the context of Task Force East and other regional cooperative arrangements;  and
• joint outreach to neighboring nations, and especially Serbia, to facilitate their integration in Euro-Atlantic security structures and organizations.

Bulgaria and Romania share Washington’s vision that the long-term peace and stability of the Balkans will come through the region’s integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. In this context, Angelov emphasized the importance of the Southeast Europe Defense Ministerial (SEDM) process and the Southeastern European Brigade (SEEBRIG), a regional security tool comprised of Partnership for Peace and NATO members.  Atlantic Council SAG experts encouraged Bulgaria to embrace a deeper regional partnership that could include common training, logistics and operations as a cost-effective way for both partners to maximize their defense capabilities.  Additional proposals include possible joint logistics and maintenance of F-16 fleets and cooperation on policing the airspace of the Black Sea region.

Afghanistan and Expeditionary Operations

Despite dramatic budget cuts, Bulgaria continues to spend 10% of its defense budget on its military presence in Afghanistan and other expeditionary operations.  In Washington, Angelov reaffirmed that Afghanistan remains a top priority for Bulgarian security policy.  Accordingly, he has worked to prepare the Bulgarian military to make additional contributions to its already strong presence in the country.  Since NATO’s call for additional resources for the Afghanistan mission, Bulgaria has sent three additional Operational Mentor Liaison Teams (OMLTs), military trainers whose mission is to develop the capabilities of the Afghan National Army, to Kandahar and Kabul.  Three additional medical teams are also part of the important contribution, and further preparations are under way that would enable Bulgaria to increase its participation, independent of NATO/ISAF long-term exit strategy.

Article 5 and Contingency Planning

Minister Angelov underscored Bulgaria’s urging of NATO to develop Article 5 contingency plans for the region, explaining that this Bulgarian request is not meant to be seen as a simple expression of solidarity.  Against the background of Bulgaria’s increased involvement in Afghanistan and other NATO expeditionary operations, the absence of a reciprocal clear Allied commitment for Bulgaria’s defense raises a serious challenge for its defense planning and resource allocation decisions.  Bulgaria’s concerns mirror those of other Central European and Baltic countries who have made their own significant contributions to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, but hope to see their support for 'out of area' missions reflected through a more credible NATO commitment to Article 5.  Like its neighbors, Bulgaria will be an advocate for a proper balancing of NATO’s core missions and tasks as the Alliance negotiates the text of a new Strategic Concept this summer and fall.

NATO and Ballistic Missile Defense

Bulgaria’s geographic location on the south-eastern flank of NATO makes it an important partner in the Alliance’s efforts to establish a comprehensive missile defense system to combat the ballistic missile threat emanating from the greater Middle East.  Bulgaria supports the Obama administration’s phased adaptive approach to European missile defense and will support making missile defense a core task of the Alliance at the November 2010 Lisbon summit.  Bulgaria has made the point that it is willing to participate in a NATO missile defense system in any way possible.  Praising the emerging Romanian role in U.S./NATO missile defense plans, Bulgaria views its possible contribution as complementary and not competitive to the efforts of other Allies in the region.  Bulgaria’s participation in an eventual NATO missile defense structure for Europe would be a critical and lasting legacy of the current government’s vision and ambitions to upgrade the nature of its strategic engagement with the United States and the NATO Alliance.

Recent Strategic Advisors Group Discussions:

• Building Momentum for NATO's Lisbon Summit and a Debriefing on the NATO Defense Ministerial Meetings
• Next Steps on Conventional Forces in Europe with Ambassador Victoria Nuland
• Atlantic Council SAG Meets with U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder
• U.S. Army Force Posture in Europe: The Atlantic Council hosts General Carter Ham