Radev reinforces opposition to weapons for Kyiv
President Radev today affirmed his opposition to selling arms to Ukraine. "If Bulgaria does sell ammunition to other member states, I will set the condition that they will not be provided to Ukraine," he stressed in Brussels during an official meeting.
When asked how he would react if the ammunition sold by Bulgaria to another EU member state ended up in Ukraine, Radev responded: "This is the responsibility of the purchaser. They are obliged to let us know who is the final recipient of the shells."
He reiterated that Bulgaria would not participate in the joint order for the supply of 155 mm shells to Ukraine. A total of EU member states have declared that they will join the initiative.
Bulgaria at bottom of EU table for GDP
Bulgarians' living standards have edged slightly closer to the average European level with GDP per capita reaching 59% of the average for the 27 EU member states, according to Eurostat's preliminary estimates.
However, the gap remains wide and Bulgaria's economic progress is too slow to catch up soon. Although the index for Bulgaria has increased by 2 points compared to 2021, it remains the lowest in the Union.
According to rough calculations, if the Bulgarian GDP per person continues to grow at the pace of the last 2-3 years, it will reach the European average level in about two decades.
400 million euros spent on Azeri gas
Bulgaria has paid more than 383 million euros for Azeri natural gas in 2022, after starting to receive the entire contracted quantity in late September of last year.
The amount represents an increase of eight times compared to the previous year when Russian gas still dominated the market.
Only three European countries had contracts for the supply of Azeri gas last year - Bulgaria, Greece and Italy. They have now imported gas worth a total of 15.6 billion euros, compared to 3.9 billion spent by them in 2021.
Radev reinforces opposition to weapons for Kyiv
President Radev today affirmed his opposition to selling arms to Ukraine. "If Bulgaria does sell ammunition to other member states, I will set the condition that they will not be provided to Ukraine," he stressed in Brussels during an official meeting.
