Europe Bulgaria Ahead of the snap elections of 19 April, police have acted on 576 reports of voter fraud, of which 181 are in pre-trial proceedings, with 95 arrests, upon hundreds of reports of people offering cash for votes
Europe Bulgaria New interim government, led by Andrey Gyurov, announced general elections for 19 April, the eighth in Bulgaria since 2021; polls predict a strong showing by former President Rumen Radev’s as-yet-unnamed new party
Europe Bulgaria On 14 February Bulgaria celebrates Trifon Zarezan, the annual festival honoring vine growers and winemakers; the Executive Agency on Vine and Wine announced that the country's wineries produced 66 million litres of wine in 2025, despite weather challenges
Europe Bulgaria Public attention in Bulgaria has been focused on an opaque criminal case, made more disturbing by lack of official information: in a week six people were found dead in Western Stara Planina, all linked to NGO National Agency for Control of Protected Areas
Europe Bulgaria Bulgaria will hold early elections, President Radev announced after the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms became the third party to reject the president’s invitation to form a government to replace the last one which resigned amid widespread protests
Europe Bulgaria Bulgaria is joining the euro area today 1 January 2026, a stronger foundation for long-term growth and resilience; across Europe the transition will lead to greater economic stability, smoother transactions and stronger integration
Europe Bulgaria PM Rosen Zhelyazkov has resigned after a vote of no confidence in parliament, following a series of mass street protests first against 2026 controversial budget, then scrapped, and lately against alleged corruption of minority centre-right government
Europe Bulgaria Crowds took to the streets in Sofia and other cities on Monday night to protest against centre-right populists governing coalition GERB; the largest protests since the 1990s saw a major presence of young people who organized themselves via TikTok and IG
Europe Bulgaria 2026 state budget doubles the dividend tax on private businesses to fund a rise in public-sector wages despite criticisms by the opposition, professional associations and business analysts, widely seen as a way to satisfy loyal voters in the public sector
Europe Bulgaria At forum “Bulgaria on the Threshold of the Eurozone” held at the Boyana Residence in Sofia, ECB President Christine Lagarde and Bulgarian National Bank Governor Dimitar Radev unveiled the design of Bulgaria’s euro banknotes
Europe Bulgaria Cabinet approved amendments to the Organ, Tissue and Cell Transplantation Act eliminating the requirement of explicit written consent during a person’s lifetime to the removal of organs, tissues and cells after their death
Europe Bulgaria December 31 and January 2 have been proposed as non-working days to stimulate travel in Bulgaria over the holiday period and to give a full 5 days break to facilitate a smoother transition to the euro
Europe Bulgaria Contracts for the use and transit of Russian natural gas will be terminated next year, with a complete exit from the Russian gas market planned by 2028, announced PM Rosen Zhelyazkov at UN Assembly, confirming that Bulgaria will align with EU decisions