site.btaBulgaria’s BTA Showcases Growth, Partnerships, and Vision at EANA Forum

Bulgaria’s national news agency BTA showcased growth, partnerships, and vision at the annual conference of the European Association of News Agencies (EANA) taking place in Athens September 24-26. BTA has agreements with 22 European agencies from EANA and offers cooperation to another nine, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said in his presentation at the forum.

The presentation was delivered alongside those of AFP (France), CTK (Czechia), ANP (Netherlands), PA (United Kingdom), and Reuters Institute.

“We are building a network of partnerships,” the Director General said, highlighting the benefits of cooperation and news exchange.

Valchev pointed out that the news agencies with which BTA does not yet have an agreement are: ANA (Andorra), CTK (Czechia), Ritzau (Denmark), STT (Finland), NTB (Norway), STA (Slovenia), Keystone‑SDA (Switzerland), TT (Sweden), and PA (United Kingdom).

Here is what Kiril Valchev also told the participants in the EANA conference:

BTA future is based on five strategic goals: freedom, truth, knowledge, community, and memory.

BTA is the oldest national media in Bulgaria with an unchanged name. It was founded in 1898 by a decree of Prince Ferdinand. The first bulletin was issued on February 16, 1898.

BTA has its Director General elected by Parliament, is funded directly from the state budget through Parliament, and is accountable to it.

The Association of Balkan News Agencies – Southeast Europe (ABNA‑SE) is registered in Bulgaria, and BTA is also a member of MINDS International — a global network of leading news agencies, and of EANA.

Since February 16, 2022, BTA’s information products are freely accessible at no charge. Now BTA publishes information, photos, and videos on nine social networks.

The conference participants were told that BTA operates under clear rules that ensure the reliability of the information provided by the agency.

BTA employs 390 staff — 356 on permanent contracts and 34 on a temporary basis. Over 65% of BTA’s employees hold university degrees. The BTA staff is 58% women and 42% men. One in every five employees is a student.

BTA has 43 correspondent bureaus both within Bulgaria and abroad, plus a permanent correspondent in Brussels. The agency also opened a national press club at the St. Kliment Ohridski base on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. There are press clubs in Odesa (Ukraine), Ankara (Turkiye), Belgrade (Serbia), Bosilegrad (Serbia), Bucharest (Romania), Skopje (North Macedonia) and Taraclia (Moldova).

In addition to purchasing news from five global agencies, BTA provides free news to Bulgarian media from 49 agencies across four continents (Europe, Asia, America, and Africa) with which BTA has partnership agreements. These include the national news agencies of all neighboring countries and 23 European agencies (16 of which are from EU member states, including AFP from France and dpa from Germany — both global news agencies and EANA members).

BTA has agreements for daily no‑cost news exchange with national news agencies in Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nigeria, North Macedonia, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Serbia, Spain, Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, and Yemen, and is a subscriber to the information service of the Ukrainian national news agency. Along with an earlier agreement with Japan, the total number reaches 50.

In 2025, LIK turned 60 years since its founding. Launched as a weekly bulletin on 8 January 1965, its name is an acronym of the Bulgarian words for “Literature”, “Art”, and “Culture”. Today, the magazine offers expert content, works with leading experts and authors, and presents a modern perspective on important issues and personalities from BTA’s archives.

Around 65% of copies are distributed to state and cultural institutions, including libraries, research institutes, ministries, museums, news agencies, and business subscribers.

BTA used its own custom typeface, LIK. It was designed by a team from the National Academy of Arts. Based on the tradition of the students of Saints Cyril and Methodius, it incorporates elements from the founding of the Preslav Literary School in the 9th century. BTA uses this custom font for all its texts, documents, and materials. The new font is available free of charge for use by all Bulgarian institutions.

BTA has signed 141 agreements in the fields of culture, research, and education, and 31 agreements in the field of economy.

BTA has organized seven BG Tourism forums. These take place just before the start of the tourism season and focus on Bulgaria’s messages to attract tourists.

BTA has a new section, BG World, which tells stories of the lives, experiences, and achievements of Bulgarians abroad. According to Kiril Vŭlchev, in its first year the rubric published 243 stories, and by 2024 it had published over 8,000 stories.

BTA has made huge progress in digitizing its archive.  

The Director General also mentioned initiatives such as Athlete of the Balkans, the renovation of the BTA building and its surrounding spaces, and a joint initiative of BTA, Bulgarian National Radio, and Bulgarian National Television to commemorate significant anniversaries in Bulgarian history, among others.