The new prime minister pressed for a bigger role in Europe’s defence industry while calling for diplomacy on Ukraine
BERLIN – Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev used his first foreign trip since taking office to deepen defence ties with Germany, press for a bigger Bulgarian role in European arms production and call for diplomacy on Ukraine – drawing a firmer response from Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Russia.
The visit, ten days after Radev took office, carried military honours and a packed agenda spanning defence, industrial policy and the EU’s next seven-year budget. The Bulgarian delegation included Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Aleksandar Pulev, alongside Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova, a former deputy foreign minister and a Cambridge-trained microbiologist.
In Brussels, the significance of the trip will be judged less on symbolism than on what it reveals about Sofia’s position on Ukraine, defence spending and the next Multiannual Financial Framework. Radev arrived with a strong parliamentary majority after five years of political instability, giving Bulgaria renewed weight on all three files.
Merz used his opening remarks to frame the discussion around European solidarity, the bloc’s financial framework and a hard line on Moscow.
