site.btaMedia Review: December 2

PROTESTS

All media outlets extensively covered the protests in downtown Sofia.

Trud reports that a mass protest against the 2026 state budget has filled the "Triangle of Power" in central Sofia, with traffic blocked near the Saint Sofia monument. The demonstrators oppose what the daily calls the first budget in euros, the first drafted without social partner consultations and the first to raise taxes and social security contributions, while similar rallies are held in other cities. From the stage, CC-DB representatives demand that the budget be withdrawn, revised and resubmitted; party leader Assen Vassilev warns that if this does not happen, the government “no longer [has] the right to govern Bulgaria”. The paper describes people dancing horo to bagpipes and chanting “Resignation”, Parliament lit up with the slogan “Resignation and prison”, organizers urging a peaceful protest and citizens to film provocations, and police introducing special access rules with ID checks and searches of personal belongings.

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Trud reports that unrest continued at the Sofia protest against the 2026 Budget, as masked youths in black threw bottles, stones and fireworks at police near the MRF headquarters, prompting officers to use tear gas; rubbish bins were overturned and set on fire. A bTV camera operator and other journalists were injured, and protesters feared that peaceful demonstrators, including families with children, could be caught up in the clashes. Continue the Change warned on social media about “groups of hooligans” near the MRF offices and urged people to avoid Vasil Levski Boulevard, while masked youths also smashed windows at a nearby GERB office in Oborishte and tried to set it on fire but were stopped by protesters because the building is residential. More than ten people were detained, one police officer suffered a broken leg and another was taken to hospital.

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24 Chasa reports that former National Police chief Vasil Vasilev sharply criticized the Interior Ministry’s response to provocations after the Sofia protest, telling bTV that “the police dropped the ball” despite prior intelligence on planned incidents. He said the ministry failed to stop groups who passed checkpoints with tools, and that many officers brought in from the provinces were unfamiliar with the local environment. Vasilev argued that the police should hold preventive talks with fan groups and operate a communication centre to track rising tensions and dispatch mobile units, instead of “waiting for provocateurs to stop throwing stones on their own”. He added that these groups see the police as their only enemy, some are allegedly paid to commit violence, and that “the state also does not show how it punishes them.”

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Dnevnik publishes an analysis by Teodor Slavev of the Bulgarian Institute for Legal Initiatives, who argues that the mass protest in central Sofia marks “a new stage” in democratic development – a kind of “revolution” led by a highly politicized Generation Z that internalizes and transmits democratic norms. He describes Bulgaria as a captured state with only formal democracy, where anger is now directed at a corrupt elite that doubles salaries in the police, judiciary and security services while leaving healthcare, education and culture to stagnate and extracting more from already distrustful workers. According to Slavev, the government, which had a narrow mandate to break the electoral deadlock and steer Bulgaria into the euro area, instead pressures the opposition, increases burdens on citizens and rewards loyalists in the repressive apparatus; its best option is rapid resignation and early elections, though all scenarios are risky for Radev, Borissov and Peevski. The analysis concludes that the decisive question is who becomes prosecutor general and insists that the protests’ core demand must be a genuinely independent prosecution service and judiciary, as only an autonomous “third branch” can dismantle entrenched mafia privileges.

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bTV interviewed former prime minister and CC–DB Co-Floor Leader Nikolay Denkov, an organizer of the 1 December protest, who called it “the protest of the two ‘no’s’ – no to theft and no to lies”, saying it was about young people’s demand for justice and a future in Bulgaria. He stressed that the evening comprised a peaceful protest, where speakers repeatedly warned against provocateurs, and a separate event after 22:00. Noting that chants of “Resignation” and “Mafia out” went beyond the initial goal of withdrawing Budget 2026, Denkov said the people had shown the government its time was up, insisted Borissov must retire and Peevski be removed from politics, and announced that Continue the Change and Democratic Bulgaria now jointly demand the cabinet’s resignation.

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BNR reports that Bulgaria Can leader Kuzman Iliev likened the previous day’s events to “a game of chess, even poker with the stakes raised,” in which big political players, not society, were the main winners. He argued that Peevski had anticipated and likely facilitated the protest, using the escalation to frame a confrontation between himself and President Radev, with CC–DB and GERB on the “Euro-Atlantic line” ultimately lining up behind Peevski – a scenario Iliev sees as problematic for CC–DB. In his view, Radev also met his goal by stepping onto the stage once the crowd clearly exceeded a single party’s base, while Borissov appeared politically subordinate, failing to use the protest to break free from Peevski’s influence. Iliev concluded that the government’s resignation is inevitable and warned that without it, public anger will turn even against those who now claim to be fighting the mafia.

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Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reports that over 70 people were detained after Monday night’s protest in Sofia, all in clashes with police after 22:00 near Dondukov and Vasil Levski boulevards, with no arrests among protesters on Nezavisimost Square. Investigators are probing whether an electrical substation was deliberately set on fire; among those detained were 19-year-old Bozhidar Bobokov, caught pushing a burning rubbish container towards police, and a young man carrying over BGN 30,000 in bundled cash allegedly intended to pay provocateurs, some of whom were linked to the political parties MECh and Velichie.

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Nova TV reported expert reactions to Monday night’s protest, with political analyst Dimitar Ganev saying it resembled the 2013 and 2020 demonstrations but was now driven by the liberal urban middle class spread to major cities and was testing whether it could endure and pressure the government amid extremely high tension. Sociologist Parvan Simeonov said the protest had shifted from opposing the budget to a broader wave against those in power, with calls for the cabinet’s resignation and Delyan Peevski at the centre of public anger, warning that Boyko Borissov must step back or face mounting tension. Ganev added that the cabinet would try to hold out until the holidays and that early elections were risky for CC–DB because President Rumen Radev was positioning himself in their political space.

PR expert Georgi Lozanov called the protests “one of the most beautiful democratic stories”, accused the government of reviving the 2020-style “slices of the pie” model for business and said attempts to discredit the protest came from provocateurs, while communication expert Nidal Algafari argued that escalation did not come from “smart, young people” or GERB voters and blamed the split march to the GERB and MRF–New Beginning headquarters for hampering police control.

Political scientist Lyubomir Stefanov said police had let people carrying “interesting objects” through checkpoints, spoke of around 150 known troublemakers seeking clashes, noted that protesters tried not to let them hijack the rally, and urged the governing majority to listen to citizens, stressing that civil society is active, firmly rooted and uniting diverse groups in many large cities.

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Nova TV reported that major international media covered the Bulgarian protests, with Reuters saying thousands demonstrated in Sofia and other cities against the first 2026 draft budget in euro, higher taxes, increased social security contributions and corruption, noting clashes, arrests, injured officers and Christine Lagarde’s warning that euro adoption could fuel inflation. Agence France-Presse, Deutsche Welle and Le Monde described the rallies as the largest in years, with organizers in Sofia claiming about 50,000 participants, and Le Monde portraying them as evidence of a strengthening anti-corruption movement, recalling attacks on the MRF–New Beginning headquarters and a GERB office, chants of “Mafia!” and “Resignation!”, and President Rumen Radev’s appeal to end the violence and for the government to resign. The French daily cited fears that, amid deep mistrust in institutions and high perceived corruption, a budget combining higher public wages and higher taxes would further entrench corrupt practices, and stressed that it will be the first calculated in euro after Bulgaria joins the euro area on January 1. German broadcaster ZDF reported tens of thousands protesting nationwide against corruption and the government, said the rallies began over the 2026 draft budget, which is seen as masking widespread graft, and cited surveys showing about half of Bulgarians oppose the euro because of concerns over rising prices.

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Trud writes that President Rumen Radev described the unrest at the protest in central Sofia as follows: “This is not a clash between the police and the protesters, but a provocation by the mafia that aims to set them against each other,” Radev wrote on Facebook. He called for an end to the violence and for everyone to comply with the law. “The provocations do not change the fact: Bulgarians said NO to this government. There is only one way out: resignation and early elections,” Radev added.

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Trud writes that MRF Chair and MRF–New Beginning Floor Leader Delyan Peevski accused President Rumen Radev in a Facebook post of being “the true organizer of the pogroms, arsons and chaos” and warned: “We will not allow anarchy and chaos to engulf Bulgaria.” He said the MRF “will not be broken” by the aggression and vowed that, by democratic means, it will defend citizens’ rights and their right to a free and democratic vote.

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Trud reports that Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev accused the Interior Ministry of failing to maintain order during the Sofia protest, saying it “did not cope” and allowed people carrying fireworks and other items with no place at a peaceful rally to enter despite prior warnings, raising serious questions about police preparedness. He lamented the shattered shop windows, burning bins and damage to key streets and infrastructure, urged citizens not to give in to provocations by “a small group of organized hooligans”, and said the city would be cleaned, restored and public transport resumed once police and firefighting operations are completed.

POLITICS

bTV, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) and Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reported that the Council of Ministers, at an absentee meeting, proposed that the National Assembly adopt a decision to withdraw the draft State Budget Act for 2026. With the same decision, the cabinet also withdrew the draft budgets of the National Health Insurance Fund and the State Social Insurance. The decision was already sent to Parliament, and after the National Assembly adopted a resolution, the government would launch a new budget procedure.

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24 Chasa writes that Election Code changes adopted at first reading nearly a year ago remain stalled in Parliament, continuing the practice of rewriting election rules shortly before a vote. The package, drafted after the Constitutional Court partially annulled the last results and let Velichie into the 51st National Assembly, would also reshape the Central Election Commission (CEC), whose 15-member line-up from May 2021 no longer reflects the current legislature. Revival wants the CEC expanded to 25 members, while MRF–New Beginning is described as backing Chair Kameliya Neykova’s continuation despite earlier calls from Hamid Hamid and Delyan Peevski for a new commission, amid disputes over MRF quotas in lower-level bodies. Five bills from CC, BSP, DB, Vazrazhdane and TISP propose centralized counting centres, ballot-scanning tabulators, cleaning “dead souls” from electoral rolls, overdue regulation of overseas voting and wider CCTV coverage with higher fines. Open questions include whether CCTV footage can be used to contest results, responsibility for machine-paper problems and plans to treat machines and their open-source software as national security assets.

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Mediapool.bg reports that Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev is returning to work at City Hall after nearly five months in custody, saying he feels “recharged” and ready to “open a new page” in the municipality’s governance, voicing support for the protest and urging people not to fear standing up for their rights, while stressing that a presidential bid “is not on the agenda”. He says the pressure has weighed most on his family and the people of Varna and announces perjury lawsuits over what he calls “another attack” linked to the charity campaign that raised over BGN 200,000 for his bail, after former municipal employee Bilyana Yakova alerted oversight bodies to investigate the origin of the donations.

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Mediapool reports that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office has brought Bulgaria’s first major EPPO court case against former Varna mayor Ivan Portnih, a former regional governor and two Maritime Administration officials for allegedly falsifying documents to secure EUR 3.4 million in EU and national funding for a “reconstruction” of a fishing port that did not in fact exist, with hastily installed pontoons used to reclassify rocks and sand as a port site. Estimated damage is EUR 2.8 million to the EU budget and EUR 675,475 to the national budget; Portnih and the ex-governor face two to eight years in prison if convicted, the other two defendants up to five years and possible bans from office. The case, launched after an OLAF referral, stems from a 2018 project promoted by then PM Boyko Borissov, and comes as EPPO also probes a Varna tender for 60 buses, while Bulgarian courts have so far blocked efforts to drop a separate case against Portnih over sewage pollution in Lake Varna.

ECONOMY

Capital reports that public sector wage costs are set to reach nearly 11% of GDP in 2026, driven mainly by steep pay rises in the security and defence sectors, which will make Bulgaria the EU “record holder” for internal order and security spending at 3.6% of GDP against an EU average of 1.7%. Salaries for police, armed forces and teachers are planned to increase by an average 10.8% and by 5% for the rest of the public sector, pushing personnel expenditure up by EUR 886 million – almost as much as the extra revenue from higher social security contributions – while public sector pay has risen faster than in the private sector and remains higher in absolute terms, with the gap widened by the fact that civil servants and uniformed staff do not pay social security contributions. Employer organizations and experts urge curbs on wage growth in administration, defence and security, proposing the abolition of automatic indexation, the elimination of thousands of vacant posts and caps on bonuses, while the Institute for Market Economics warns that personnel spending must be cut below 10% of GDP, which would require freezing staff costs in 2026 at their 2025 level.

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24 Chasa reports that Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova says measures against the shadow economy are paying off, with budget revenues for the first ten months of 2025 up by BGN 8.649 billion year-on-year, including BGN 7.334 billion more from taxes and social security, bringing total revenues under the consolidated fiscal programme to BGN 66.782 billion (74% of the annual plan) and a deficit of BGN 6.59 billion, or 2.98% of projected GDP. In early November Bulgaria received BGN 0.86 billion as a second Recovery and Resilience Facility payment and expects nearly BGN 3.2 billion more by year-end, which should offset an EU funds shortfall of over BGN 2.1 billion and improve the fiscal balance.

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Mediapool.bg reports that the Bulgarian National Audit Office is the first state body to launch an internal optimization drive, scrapping vacant posts, releasing staff who have acquired pension rights and introducing a new bonus scheme under which extra pay is granted only if savings are achieved and according to objective criteria. The move follows criticism over large bonuses last year, with Chair Dimitar Glavchev saying he received about BGN 24,000 and the rest of the reported BGN 113,000 went to his predecessor Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva. In November 2025 the institution notified 37 employees eligible for retirement and cut 5% of positions and an entire department yet still faces an acute shortage of auditors: five competitions for 75 posts produced only 10 hires, and further recruitment procedures are under way for 53 vacancies.

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Labour and Social Policy Minister Borislav Gutsanov backs cutting administrative burdens on businesses without harming workers’ rights, speaking at the EU Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council. He supports the European Commission’s targets to reduce burdens by at least 25% for all companies and 35% for SMEs, stressing the need for close dialogue with small and medium-sized enterprises, scrapping outdated or overlapping rules, and boosting technical and financial support for one-stop digital services. Gutsanov insists on restraint in adding new EU requirements and calls for mandatory impact assessments on SMEs for every new law. Member States, he says, must also ease national regulations: simplification should strengthen competitiveness without undermining quality jobs and decent working conditions. The Council also discusses housing accessibility and the rights and working conditions of posted workers, and Gutsanov attends a meeting of PES ministers on joint initiatives in EU institutions.

CRIME

Telegraph reports that a major Sofia police operation against drug distribution, focused on areas near schools in outer districts, led to the seizure of multiple types of narcotics and the detention of 13 suspected dealers. Officers uncovered fentanyl and crystals in an air-conditioning unit in Tatarli, hidden compartments with marijuana, ecstasy and methamphetamine in a car in Darvenitsa, and several cases of cannabis and mixed drugs in Ovcha Kupel, Gotse Delchev Boulevard and Strelbishte, where one suspect had marijuana, amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine and MBMD. First Precinct officers detained several people with cocaine and herbal drugs, later finding more marijuana and cocaine in a flat, while economic police and First Precinct also seized over 12,000 nitrous oxide canisters and capsules in a Druzhba warehouse, intended for domestic sale and international trafficking, and detained a repeat offender.

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Dnevnik reports that deepfake YouTube ads using a synthetic voice closely resembling President Rumen Radev promote a supposed “economic initiative” on financial literacy and technology, with drone footage of Sofia and links to misleading sites, while the Presidency and Interior Ministry confirm the clips are AI-generated fakes and stress that the President does not participate in any such campaigns. The ads are spread through channels impersonating media such as the Bulgarian News Agency and Le Monde and currently redirect to sites that do not require registration or payment. Cybersecurity expert Krasimir Kotsev says this is the first phase of a familiar scam model, noting that a few hours of audio are enough to clone a public figure’s voice.

Dnevnik adds that although the Interior Ministry’s cybercrime unit flags such content for removal, action is hampered because the creators operate from abroad behind foreign hosting and protection services, new ads quickly replace blocked ones, and only about 1% of alerts lead to police operations against organized crime groups.