Guardian: In 2009 Bulgaria Sold Weapons to Libya for EUR M

Defiant Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi continues to reiterate Tripoli is "safe". Photo by EPA/BGNES

Bulgaria has sold in 2009 ammunitions and detonators to the Muammar Gaddafi's regime in the amount close to EUR 4 M.

The information belongs to an investigative report of the British Guardian focusing on weapons deals between Libya and EU Member States.

The publication does not precise the time of the year the arms, now used to kill demonstrating Libyans have been sold – in 2009 Bulgaria had two cabinets – the Three Way Coalition led by Socialist, Sergey Stanishev and the one of the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party of Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov.

The Bulgarian daily Dnevnik writes Wednesday that according to Bulgarian laws, each weapons deal must be entered in a special register, listing details and the end receiver.

According to the yearly report of the Inter-institutional Commission for Export Control and Non-dissemination of Weapons for Mass Destruction, in 2009 Bulgaria had indeed sold ammunitions and explosives to Libya in the amount of EUR 3.73 M. The sale has been done with one permit, but the report does not list the company which sold the ammunitions. The report is published on the site of the Economy and Energy Ministry and is signed by Minister, Traicho Traikov, according to Dnevnik's own research.

Guardian writes that after the weapons embargo against Libya was lifted in 2004, the EU countries have issued 5 export permits for a total of EUR 834.5 M.

Bulgaria joined the EU in the beginning of 2007. 2009 has been the record year when the export reached EUR 343.7 M.

In the five years, Italy had the largest weapons export to Libya – for EUR 276.7 M and EUR 111.8 M just in 2009 for military aircraft and electronic equipment.

France is second with EUR 210.15 M between 2005 and 2009, followed by the UK and Germany.

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