Security services undergoing major transformation, Prime Minister Radev says

Bulgaria’s security services are undergoing a major structural and functional transformation, Prime Minister Rumen Radev told parliament.

“A process of profound transformation is currently under way in our security services – both structural and functional. I hope that very soon the heads of these services will brief parliament on the measures that will be taken,” Radev said in response to a question from Democratic Bulgaria MP Atanas Atanasov about the readiness of the security services and civilian intelligence for Bulgaria’s upcoming 2027 chairmanship of NATO’s Civilian Intelligence Committee.

Radev did not give details of the changes under way, but said “the transformation is indeed profound and is intended to ensure much greater efficiency”.

Turning to the capabilities of the services, the Prime Minister said human intelligence remained fundamental, but a high level of technological intelligence was also crucial in the modern world. “This requires adequate resources, because in most cases those our services are up against have access to much more advanced technology than we do,” Radev added.

He said he expected parliament to support the technological modernisation of the security services in the next budget.

Editor: Diana Tsankova