Bulgaria

Young healthcare professionals protesting for higher pay could easily be replaced by foreign medics 'happy to work for $500 a month', said MP Toshko Yordanov, sparking controversy and drawing criticism

18th Sofia Pride was held in Knyaz Alexander I Square with the theme “We are people, not propaganda” in response to growing rhetoric that presents LGBTI rights as a threat; organisers remind that behind every identity and cause stand real individuals

A convergence report on Bulgaria’s readiness to adopt the Euro from 2026 has been issued by the European Commission, while over 100 anti-Eurozone demonstrations were held, claiming that changing the Lev would represent a loss of national identity

Bulgarians should be allowed to vote on whether the country ditches the lev in favour of the euro, according to President Rumen Radev; critics say the proposed plebiscite is more about his post-presidency political ambitions

Illegally-built Roma homes in Sofia have been flattened despite European Court of Human Rights ruled demolition shouldn't proceed until a legal challenge is resolved; The 2016 decision to demolish follows Spatial Planning Act and locals were notified

Nationalist and anti-fascist marches were held in Sofia on the same day: far-right factions gathered to commemorate controversial general Hristo Lukov in the annual so-called Lukov March while a “No Nazis on our streets” demonstration was held earlier

With house prices in Bulgaria's ten largest cities having risen by 25-26% over the past two years, more and more people are buying real estate, with or without loans, fearing that house prices will rise further after the country joins the Eurozone

Bulgaria had the highest total fertility rate in the EU in 2023 with 1,81 live births per woman, followed by France (1,66) and Hungary (1,55), according to Eurostat data released on Friday 7 March 2024

Bulgaria's Central Energy Repair Base is carrying out repairs to the Pljevlja thermal power plant, Montenegro's only coal-fired plant, which generates about a third of the country's electricity and plays a key role in the energy infrastructure

The shadow economy remains high, at 33% and Bulgaria shows the highest tolerance for the shadow economy compared to the rest of the European Union according to a study by the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

The cost of driving courses will rise even further, with prices exceeding 2.000 leva (1.000 euro); Yonko Ivanov, president of the Union of Car and Motorcycle Instructors, explained that they must adapt to European standards and technological advances

Encroachments in Bulgarian forest areas decreased by over 60% in 2024 compared to 2023, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Food; 631.000 inspections were carried out in 2024