Bulgaria would pay Ukraine, but not for weapons, though it won't use its veto

Bulgaria would continue to fulfill its financial commitments to support Ukraine through the European Peace Facility, but insists that its contribution not be used to purchase new lethal weapons. According to a report by the Bulgarian state news agency BTA, the government in Sofia therefore decided on October 21 to apply so-called constructive abstention, which allows it to stay out of such support measures without blocking the joint decision of the other member states.

The cabinet led by Rumen Radev would also like to ensure that Bulgaria's contribution is used primarily to help the regions of Ukraine where members of the Bulgarian national minority live, although this is still being discussed with the European Commission. The decision is notable because the Bulgarian government had previously halted military assistance to Ukraine, citing a lack of resources for further financial support, yet it now acknowledges that it must honor the payments committed by previous governments. According to the cabinet's statement, withholding the amounts due would mean paying interest and losing the EU reimbursements owed for assistance already provided, so political distancing does not automatically exempt Sofia from paying its bills.

The European Peace Facility was established on March 22, 2021, as an instrument operating outside the EU's regular budget to finance military and defense-related measures, with member states' contributions calculated according to EU rules based on their gross national income (GNI). The system allows a country unwilling to finance lethal weapons to contribute a larger share to other support measures, meaning that opting out of arms procurement does not end its financial participation altogether. Constructive abstention therefore offers Sofia a solution that lets it distance itself from financing new weapons without blocking EU decision-making. An important distinction, however, is that excluding the procurement of lethal weapons does not turn all of the remaining support into civilian or humanitarian aid, since the European Peace Facility can also finance other defense-related purposes.

The Bulgarian government justifies its decision by arguing that, as a Black Sea state, it has a strategic interest in ending the military operations taking place near its borders, and it presents the emphasis on non-military assistance as support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as a way to encourage diplomatic negotiations. According to a report by Mediapool, Radev's government wants to maintain part of the support this way while continuing to reject arms deliveries. A separate issue is the new, 70-billion loan planned for Ukraine, in which, according to Radev, Bulgaria cannot take part. The prime minister also referred to the previously approved 90-billion European loan commitment and questioned whether, given Europe's current economic situation, taking on a further obligation is justifiable. The two matters should therefore be treated separately, since the European Peace Facility issue concerns the use of already existing payments, while the new loan involves rejecting an additional financial commitment. Sofia's message is thus twofold: it would not give money for new weapons, but it cannot simply walk away from its earlier obligations — and perhaps that is precisely why it does not want to veto the decision of the other EU member states either.

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