Bulgaria says there are no grounds to investigate the incident with the plane of the head of the European Commission

Bulgarian prime minister Rosen Zhelyazkov says there are no grounds to investigate the incident with the plane of the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen as GPS jamming is not considered a hybrid or cyber threat. The words of the politician reports Bulgarian agency BTA.

Zhelyazkov noted that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, modern warfare has increasingly included so-called electronic warfare, which, in particular, involves the deliberate creation of radio interference.

According to the politician, such obstacles have been observed in recent years in a large area, including the Finnish capital Helsinki, the Black Sea region, Armenian Yerevan, Georgian Tbilisi, Cyprus, Syria, and Libyan Tripoli.

The prime minister noted that in the case of von der Leyen, the radio signal disruption was not specifically aimed at any particular aircraft, and that the incident was detected by the crew.

"Such events occur on a daily basis, and aircraft have been taking off and landing long before GPS systems existed," said the Bulgarian prime minister.

According to him, there are established international protocols for such situations, which are applied in all countries under the supervision of the EU's European Aviation Safety Agency. These protocols stipulate that in the event of a GPS malfunction, traditional methods of navigation using instruments are used.

Zhelyazkov emphasized that the Bulgarian air traffic control service had followed all the necessary procedures, and that the incident with the head of the European Commission did not differ from similar cases related to the Russian-Ukrainian war and the use of electronic warfare.

"Unfortunately, this is one of the side effects, though not a minor one, of such conflicts," the Bulgarian politician concluded.

Earlier, on September 1, Arianna Podesta, Deputy Chief Spokesperson for the European Commission, said that the Bulgarian authorities suspect that the incident with the Von der Leyen plane was caused by Russia's clear interference.

• On August 31, the plane with the head of the European Commission von der Leyen forced to land at the airport in the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv due to a GPS malfunction. FT sources said that the incident is being considered as an operation of Russian interference.
• on September 2, NATO Secretary General Rutte said that the Alliance "very seriously" perceives this incident.