SOFIA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said here Friday that the European Union (EU) should become a collective member of NATO so the defense budgets can be used more efficiently.
If this happens, the EU could allocate two percent of its budget for defense, and together with NATO, set priorities for developing the armed forces of countries depending on the threats to each country, Borissov said.
This is pragmatic because military equipment is "godlessly expensive," military exercises were also very expensive, and maintenance was "even more expensive," Borissov said.
In this way, EU countries would feel safe, and no single country would have to spend a lot of money on everything, he added.
In 2014, NATO members decided to move towards spending two percent of their countries' gross domestic product (GDP) on defense.
However, Bulgaria, a NATO and EU member since 2004 and 2007 respectively, has been suffering from lack of sufficient funds for its armed forces.
