site.btaBulgaria's 2025 in Review: Mass Protests Take Down Government as Country Prepares for Eurozone Entry

Bulgaria’s political year 2025 will be remembered for the election of a regular government that resigned after 11 months in office amid mass protests, as well as for preparations for the country’s entry into the eurozone. Following a series of snap parliamentary elections, on January 16 the government headed by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov was approved by Parliament with 125 votes in favor, 114 against, and no abstentions. It was backed by GERB–UDF, BSP–United Left, Democracy, Rights and Freedoms (before renaming to Alliance for Rights and Freedoms, ARF), and There Is Such a People (TISP). Voting against were Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC–DB), Vazrazhdane, MRF – New Beginning, and Morality, Unity, Honour (MECh). After the vote, the prime minister and members of the Zhelyazkov cabinet took the oath of office before the National Assembly.

Several months later, ARF announced it was leaving the governing majority, arguing that instead of dismantling the so-called “Peevski model” [named after MRF – New Beginning Floor Leader Delyan Peevski], it was witnessing its consolidation.

During its 11 months in power, the government survived six votes of no confidence. The first four were initiated by Vazrazhdane, MECh, and Velichie, while the last two were tabled by CC–DB. Prior to the fourth vote in July, Continue the Change stated it would support votes of no confidence that did not distance Bulgaria from Europe. Until July 8, when the final decision was taken for Bulgaria to join the eurozone as of January 1, 2026, CC had abstained from voting on such motions.

On December 11, just ahead of the sixth vote of no confidence and following renewed mass protests, Prime Minister Zhelyazkov announced the government’s resignation. The previous evening, thousands of Bulgarians once again took to the streets in Sofia and other cities demanding the cabinet step down. Protests were also held by Bulgarians abroad, including in Brussels and Vienna. The demonstrations attracted international media attention, including coverage by Reuters and AFP.

In Sofia, large crowds filled the area around the Council of Ministers, Parliament, and the Presidency — the so-called “triangle of power.” Organizers from CC–DB said the protest demanded the “resignation of the straw-man government and the permanent removal of [GERB-UDF Floor Leader Boyko] Borissov and Peevski from power.”

The protests initially erupted over the draft 2026 budget, which proposed a two-percentage-point increase in pension insurance contributions and a rise in the dividend tax from 5% to 10%.

The first protest against the draft budget took place on November 26 in Sofia. In response, the government announced it would revise the budget through dialogue with trade unions and employers. On December 1, thousands again gathered in Sofia and other cities demanding the withdrawal of the draft budget. Late that night, unrest broke out in the capital after protesters marched toward the headquarters of MRF.

“The resignation is urgent, and early elections are the only way forward,” President Rumen Radev said in an address to the nation.

Following the protests, the draft laws for the state budget, the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) budget, and Public Social Insurance (PSI) for 2026 were withdrawn.

“With no budget just weeks before entering the eurozone, we have no right to abdicate responsibility. We will be the last to abdicate — but that does not mean stubbornness. We show responsibility by acknowledging our mistake and withdrawing the budget,” Zhelyazkov said. Six days later, revised versions of the budget bills were submitted to Parliament. Public discontent, however, did not subside.

After another wave of mass protests on December 10, this time explicitly demanding the government’s resignation, the Zhelyazkov cabinet stepped down, and the opposition called for swift and fair elections.

President Radev held consultations with parliamentary parties and announced that after the New Year he would hand the first government-forming mandate within the current parliament. If no government is formed after all three mandates, the Constitution requires the appointment of a caretaker government and the calling of snap elections.

Instead of adopting a new budget for 2026 on the eve of eurozone entry, Parliament approved a so-called extension budget, which will apply during the first three months of the year. Trade unions opposed halting the regular budget procedure. BSP–United Left insisted on adopting a full budget and protecting social rights, while GERB–UDF and TISP said they would support only the extension law.

The revised draft budget had envisaged an increase in child-raising benefits for children under two, a 10% rise in public-sector wages, continued income policies for teachers, pension indexation under the Swiss rule, and a EUR 30 million programme to support medical residents in 2026.

Under the adopted extension budget law, MPs approved a one-off wage indexation equal to accumulated annual inflation as of December 31, 2025, for public-sector employees not earning the minimum wage. As a result, Bulgaria will effectively enter the eurozone using its 2025 budget converted into euros.

The current budget was adopted in late March after nearly 22 hours of plenary debate. It did not include tax increases and set a budget deficit of 3% of GDP to meet eurozone criteria.

Significant amendments were made to the Energy Act, leaving households on the regulated electricity market indefinitely.

On June 4, the European Commission and the European Central Bank published their convergence reports on Bulgaria’s eurozone accession as of January 1, 2026. MPs from Vazrazhdane blocked access to the parliamentary rostrum, declaring the legislature would no longer function that day, while supporters of the Bulgarian lev protested outside Parliament.

On July 30, Parliament adopted at second reading amendments to the Euro Introduction in Bulgaria Act, promulgated on August 8, requiring prices to be displayed in euros from that date.

In December, Parliament rejected President Radev’s proposal for a national referendum on introducing the euro in 2026. The motion, submitted at the request of Vazrazhdane, was voted down with 135 votes against.

Besides the preparations for joining the eurozone, MPs also focused on laws related to fulfilling commitments for receiving the second and third payments under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). These included the Whistleblower Protection Act, amendments to the Penal Code regarding insult and defamation, amendments to the Civil Procedure Code regarding mandatory mediation, as well as the Personal Insolvency Act, which allows individuals to declare personal bankruptcy if they have been unable to pay a debt exceeding 10 minimum monthly wages for more than 12 months.

MPs also decided that the heads of the State Agency for National Security (SANS), State Agency Technical Operations (SATO), and the State Intelligence Agency (SIA) would be elected by parliament, rather than appointed by presidential decree as before. In addition, MPs approved that the State Agency for National Security (SANS) would no longer provide transportation services for the presidential administration.

Due to U.S. sanctions against the Russian company Lukoil and the impact on its assets in Bulgaria, the National Assembly temporarily banned the export and intra-EU delivery of petroleum products, mainly diesel and aviation fuel. Seven days later, legislative amendments were adopted concerning the functions of the special commercial administrator of the refinery and other Lukoil facilities in Bulgaria. The parliamentary Energy Committee session lasted about 28 seconds. After the President’s veto on the amendments was overridden, Rumen Spetsov, former executive director of the National Revenue Agency, was appointed as the special administrator of Lukoil’s companies.

Prior to this, MPs also urgently adopted amendments stipulating that the sale of Lukoil’s assets in Bulgaria could only take place following a decision by the Council of Ministers, with a positive opinion from the SANS. The President vetoed the amendments, but the veto was overridden.

Parliament also replenished the membership of some regulatory bodies with expired mandates and opened a discussion on whether to dissolve the Anti-Corruption Commission. A national ombudsman, Velislava Delcheva, and a deputy ombudsman, Maria Filipova, were elected, along with deputy chairpersons of the Audit Office. This completed appointments to senior state positions, among which, according to the Constitution, the caretaker prime minister is chosen. These positions include the National Assembly Chair, the Governor or Deputy Governors of the Bulgarian National Bank, the Chair or Deputy Chair of the Audit Office, and the ombudsman or deputy ombudsman.

The Director General of the Bulgarian News Agency, Kiril Valchev, was re-elected for a second five-year term. In October, Raya Nazaryan (GERB-UDF) replaced Nataliya Kiselova (BSP–United Left) as Chair of Parliament.

Following the municipal council elections in Pazardzhik, in which GERB became the sixth political force, the party leader Boyko Borissov spoke about reformatting the government. On October 29, then-Chair of the National Assembly Nataliya Kiselova announced her resignation. Raya Nazaryan was elected as the new Chair.

The day before, the Joint Governance Council (JGC) decided to introduce a rotating speakership in parliament. JGC Chair Kostadin Angelov (GERB-UDF) stated that the following day an annex to the joint governance agreement would be signed, after which the rotation would take effect. At the press briefing following the JGC meeting, alongside representatives of the three ruling parties - GERB-UDF, BSP–United Left, and There Is Such a People - was Jordan Tzonev from the parliamentary group of MRF – New Beginning, supporting the government.

In March, parliamentary groups in the 51st National Assembly became nine, following a Constitutional Court decision on the legality of the October elections. A new political force, Velichie, entered parliament, and the election of 16 MPs was declared illegal. MPs from the smallest parliamentary group, Velichie, were sworn in on March 19.

POLITICAL CHANGES

In mid-February, delegates at the 51st Congress of the Bulgarian Socialist Party elected Atanas Zafirov as party Chair. Following the government’s resignation in December, the party’s Executive Bureau resigned (excluding the chai) and scheduled a National Council meeting for January 10 next year.

At the national conference of There Is Such a People, Slavi Trifonov was re-elected as party chair.

Yes, Bulgaria elected two co-chairs - Bozhidar Bozhanov and Ivaylo Mirchev - after Hristo Ivanov resigned in June the previous year due to unsatisfactory results in the early elections. He remained in the party’s National Council.

In the fall, Assen Vassilev was elected Chair of Continue the Change (CC) after Kiril Petkov resigned as co-chair and as an MP due to allegations from Sofia borough mayors in about pressure on public procurements by CC representatives and due to arrests of the Sofia Deputy Mayor Nikola Barbutov (CC) and municipal councillors. Petkov apologized to voters for the personnel error. Mayors of Sofia’s Mladost and Lyulin boroughs and two CC municipal councillors announced their departure from the party.

Supporters of MRF founder Ahmed Dogan established a new party, the Alliance for Rights and Freedoms, after Delyan Peevski was elected as the sole chair of MRF at the end of the previous year.

At the last protests, on December 18, before the parliament’s Christmas and New Year recess, citizens demanded the removal of security for Delyan Peevski and Boyko Borisov, fair elections, fully machine-based voting, the removal of acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov, and an independent judiciary. On the same day, the parliamentary Committee on Internal Security and Public Order unanimously approved at first reading amendments to the National Security Service Act concerning the protection of MPs, but consideration of the amendments in the plenary hall was postponed until after New Year.

According to parliamentary rules, MPs are on recess from December 22 to January 10. The next regular plenary session is scheduled for January 14.

VARNA MAYOR ARREST AND RELEASE

Elected mayor on the ticket of the opposition Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria in November 2023 - one of very few opposition mayors, including also that of Sofia, Kotsev was arrested following a tip-off for corruption by a failed public procurement tenderer. He was charged with participation in an organized criminal group accused of engaging in abuse of office, bribery and money laundering. His case was sent to Sofia as the prosecutors alleged that it involved an MP (in which case the competent court is the Sofia City Court). The court has consistently rejected his applications for release from custody, and accepted the prosecutors' argument that he may interfere while the pre-trial proceedings were going on. In November a supreme court sent the case back to Varna. He denies any wrongdoing.

Courts at several instances repeatedly upheld the prosecution’s request to keep Kotsev in detention, and he remained in custody for nearly five months. On November 28, the Varna District Court released Kotsev on a BGN 200,000 bail. 

On May 5, former deputy mayor Ivanov, once regarded as Kotsev’s “right-hand man”, abruptly resigned from his post, citing “health reasons”. Following his departure from Varna’s municipal leadership, Ivanov became a witness for the Anti-Corruption Commission. In his testimony, he reportedly said that Mayor Kotsev instructed him to participate in the extortion of businesswoman Plamenka Dimitrova, the owner of a catering company. However, Ivanov later recanted his testimony announcing that he had given it under pressure from the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Kotsev's Continue the Change party insist that his arrest is part of a government campaign targeting the opposition. Large-scale protests in his support have been staged in Varna, Sofia and other major cities. The Renew Europe group in the European Parliament where Continue the Change is affiliated, sees Kotsev's extended detention as "an onslaught on democratic institutions and rule of law in Bulgaria".