site.btaUPDATED More Calls for Greater Transparency and Focus on Public Interest in Plans for Sale of 4,400 State-Owned Properties

Calls are mounting for greater transparency and a stronger focus on the public interest in the government’s plans to sell 4,400 state-owned properties.

BSP – United Left coalition came up with an official position on Tuesday that before any steps are taken as planned toward selling 4,400 state-owned properties, a transparent and objective mechanism must be put forward, accompanied by a detailed analysis of each asset deemed no longer needed. The coalition believes that the effective use of such properties in the public interest, more specifically for the development of healthcare, social, educational, and cultural services, should be prioritized.

BSP – United Left insists that, as a first step, each property must undergo a thorough review covering its location, purpose, condition, and potential for public use. Many municipalities and state institutions have already voiced interest in acquiring such properties free of charge to fulfil their public functions. The coalition further stresses that all properties with special status, such as cultural monuments of local and national significance, must be excluded from the sale list.

The coalition’s position is that requests from state institutions and municipalities for the free transfer of such properties should be satisfied first. Only if any remain should they be sold via public auction. They also call for a review of properties with disputed status or legal claims to ensure that the state safeguards its interests and avoids future court disputes or financial losses. In cases where, after a full review, there are properties that cannot be used for public purposes, their future disposition should be publicly discussed with the participation of local communities, trade unions, industry associations, and non-governmental organizations.

The coalition supports tabling the Programme for Exercising Rights over State-Owned Properties and Properties Owned by State Public Enterprises to the National Assembly to ensure greater transparency and objectivity.

President Rumen Radev argued: "The government of [MRF-New Beginning leader Delyan] Peevski and [GERB leader Boyko] Borisov is preparing to sell off state-owned properties – some along the Black Sea coast, others along the state border. They are plotting the biggest swindle since the 1990s. This involves 4,400 state properties. It is no coincidence that they pushed through changes to the State Property Act just before the holiday season." He made a connection between the list of 4,400 properties and amendments to the State Property Act that Parliament passed conclusively in end-July with the votes of GERB-UDF, Movement for Rights and Freedoms - New Beginning, BSP - United Left, There Is Such a People, and two independent MPs. On August 11, President Rumen Radev vetoed the amendments and supplements of the State Property Act. Radev believes that the amendments adopted on July 31 undermine legal safeguards previously established for certain disposal transactions with property entrusted to the state. 

In early August, Continue the Change has launched a petition against the sale of more than 4,400 state-owned properties.

Taking questions from MPs about the plans for sale of state-owned properties, Regional Development and Public Works Minister Ivan Ivanov said in a written answer that the main goal of the Programme for Exercising Rights over State-Owned Properties, approved by a Council of Ministers decision on May 8, 2025, is to ensure effective management of state-owned properties, optimize their economic return, and increase revenue from them. The Minister's answer is published on the National Assembly’s website. Responding to criticism about the lack of transparency in the process, he said that a list of over 4,000 state-owned properties slated for sale was first made public but then removed from public viewing after it transpired that the information about some of the properties had errors and that municipalities and state departments were interested in acquiring some of the items on the list, which needed to be reflected.

A case in point

In a related development, Boris Bonev, the leader of Save Sofia, which is part of the opposition in the Sofia Municipal Council, called on Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov to stop the sale of unused state-owned land and instead transfer it to the Sofia Municipality to help protect green spaces in the capital. He mentioned one particular case, Obelya 1 and Obelya 2 neighborhoods in Sofia, where around 3 ha of spaces between residential buildings have become private property, with new construction allowed in much of the area, while a 5-ha plot of former military barracks is still state-owned and listed for sale. “If these state-owned properties are given to the municipality, they could be used to exchange the privately owned plots locked between residential buildings,” Bonev said. “This would preserve the green spaces and allow new construction on a single, planned site.”