NATO Aircraft May Be Allowed to Patrol Bulgarian Airspace

The Bulgarian parliament approved amendments to the defense legislation in the first reading on Thursday, allowing NATO member countries to participate in patrolling the country's airspace, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the Bulgarian Dnevnik newspaper, 122 lawmakers out of 240 voted for the amendments after a heated debate that lasted for over two hours.

Under the legislation, Bulgaria will be able to choose NATO members for joint air patrol missions. As of today, the government has discussed joint air patrolling with Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Poland, the daily said.

The country's opposition claims that the reforms are a gross violation of the Bulgarian Constitution and an attempt to abolish the republic's Air Force.