site.btaOrganizations Call for Equal Access for People with Disabilities

Equal access for people with disabilities was demanded by organizations at a discussion hosted by the Continue the Change (CC) party on Monday. The topic of the discussion was “Young Families and Incomes,” and was part of a series of debates under the motto “Strong Bulgaria in a Strong Europe.”

Venelin Stoychev of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences commented that in Bulgaria, when someone tries to develop public policies that are sustainable, they sometimes say that people do not understand because they lack the culture for it. He asked where this value-based resistance comes from. “Values are connected to the structures of consciousness; we need to move in several directions, and political participation is important,” Stoychev said.

“From social benefits to a decent wage is something we can identify with,” commented Venko Sabrutev from CC. He added that for years, infrastructure in Bulgaria has not been designed with people with disabilities in mind, and that the state does not acknowledge this problem. According to him, the money that ends up in the pockets of the “healthcare mafia” deprives us of quality healthcare and our children of proper care.

Kristian Grigorov of the Centre for Independent Living pointed out that in recent years there has been a sense that whoever is in power has an interest in keeping people with disabilities passive rather than active citizens, as they should be in order to earn a decent wage. According to him, a recent survey shows that 95% of assistants for people with disabilities are their relatives, while only 5% are hired through the labour market and can easily leave because the money they receive is insufficient.

Vasil Dolapchiev, Chair of the Union of the Blind, highlighted that the legislation regulating the rights of people with disabilities is scattered across 45 legal acts, both laws and sub-laws. He noted that in the last ten years alone, social spending by the state has been around BGN 20 billion, compared with BGN 5 billion previously. “Let’s stop talking about the fact that there are an awful lot of people with disabilities in Bulgaria,” Dolapchiev addressed the future government.

Georgi Kolev of the Union of Disabled Persons, quoting outgoing Social Policy Minister Borislav Gutsanov, said that 12.4% of the population in Bulgaria identify as people with disabilities. He added that in 2025 more than 500,000 people received disability pensions, costing over BGN 4 billion. “Over the years we have had excellent laws for people with disabilities, but the control over implementation and the spending of funds is very low,” he stressed. Despite favourable legislation, thousands of people still live in very low standards, receiving low pensions and incomes, said the Chair of the Union of Disabled Persons. According to the organization, policies should focus on the opportunities and potential of people with disabilities. “Provide us with an accessible environment,” Kolev urged the politicians.