site.btaCorruption Pressure in Bulgaria Reaches 41%, Experts Call for Stronger Safeguards Against State Capture

Experts discussed various forms of corruption and put forward recommendations for countering them at a public discussion in Sofia organized by the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) in connection with the presentation of its latest report, "Safeguarding the Foundations: Strengthening Institutions Against State Capture".

The discussion examined the institutional architecture of state capture in Europe and the specific characteristics of the phenomenon in Bulgaria. The report focused on the institutional capacity needed to protect the state from capture by political and economic networks and from external influence. Participants also reviewed findings from the Corruption Monitoring System, which has tracked corruption pressure and participation in corrupt practices over nearly three decades.

Head of the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria Yordanka Chobanova said that nearly 71% of Europeans believe corruption is widespread in their country, marking the second-highest level recorded since Eurobarometer began measuring the indicator in 2013. She added that 69% of Europeans believe high-level corruption cases in their countries are not investigated or punished effectively, while in Bulgaria the figure stands at 76%.

Chobanova noted that the architecture of anti-corruption legislation in the European Union is undergoing significant changes. She said that work on the anti-corruption directive proposed by the European Commission in 2023 is at an advanced stage. The new rules are intended to ensure that laws and courts across all 27 EU member states interpret and treat corruption offences in a similar way, thereby strengthening the effectiveness of investigations and prosecutions.

CSD Programme Director Ruslan Stefanov highlighted the important role of the European Union as a partner of Bulgaria in anti-corruption efforts. He noted that the United States had long been one of the pillars of the international anti-corruption system but had recently reduced its engagement in this area, making the EU an even more important partner.

Senior analyst Ralitsa Daskalova presented the latest findings of the Corruption Monitoring System for 2026, according to which direct corruption pressure affects more than 41% of citizens, while participation in corrupt practices exceeds 34%.

"These figures mean that four out of every ten Bulgarians who interacted with the public administration over the past year were asked for a bribe, and three of them agreed to pay one," Daskalova said.

She stressed that the findings reflect a broader problem of institutional distrust. According to the survey, distrust is particularly high toward the judiciary, with eight out of ten Bulgarians believing that prosecutors and judges are connected in some way to corruption. Such perceptions contribute to the normalization of everyday administrative corruption, she added.

CSD Research Director Todor Galev said that state capture in Bulgaria is fragmented and manifests itself through the manipulation of rules, the allocation of resources and the exercise of power. According to him, closed informal networks dominate not only the judiciary, executive and legislative branches but also sectors that rely heavily on public funding, including energy, telecommunications, real estate, construction and healthcare.

Martin Vladimirov, Director of CSD's Geoeconomics Programme, argued that "strategic corruption" has become a key instrument for reshaping the international liberal order. He said it relies on informal networks seeking control over strategic assets and the conclusion of asymmetric agreements that can later be used as leverage for influence and pressure.

Dimitar Markov, Director of the CSD Legal Programme, called for a comprehensive long-term judicial reform. Among the recommendations he outlined were transparent and competitive procedures for appointments within the judiciary and regular public reporting on the progress of cases of significant public interest.