Freedom of association
Anti-LGBTQI+ legislation risks shrinking space for rights groups
In 2025, anti-LGBTQI+ legislation adopted and initiated the previous year (see previous CIVICUS Monitor update) continued to raise concern. Watchdog organisations warned of its potentially harmful impact on groups defending community rights and noted a deteriorating situation for LGBTQI+ people in Bulgaria.
According to Civic Space Watch and Amnesty International, the law — which bans the promotion or discussion of diverse or “non-traditional” sexual orientations and gender identities in schools — risks further shrinking civic space, particularly in education, culture, and the media. Amnesty warned that LGBTQI+ NGOs face administrative hurdles, stigmatisation, and possible closure, while public discourse has become increasingly hostile. The organisation cautioned that the law would inevitably have a chilling effect, deterring schools and public institutions from cooperating with LGBTQI+ groups for fear of legal or administrative sanctions. Amnesty stressed that these measures violate fundamental rights protected under European treaties and called for the law’s repeal.
In its submission for Bulgaria’s Universal Periodic Review, Amnesty cited cases illustrating the hostile environment for LGBTQI+ rights. These included the 2021 attack on Sofia’s Rainbow Hub community centre, whose perpetrator, former presidential candidate Boyan Rassate, was later convicted of hooliganism and given a six-month probation sentence. However, in June 2024, his sentence was overturned by Bulgaria’s Supreme Court and handed back to the lower court for consideration. Amnesty also reported that after the adoption of the law banning discussion of LGBTQI+ issues in schools, a parliamentary party published a blacklist of teachers accused of “promoting gender propaganda” for signing a petition against the law. Prosecutors ultimately refused to open a pre-trial investigation in February 2025.
Parliament rejects “foreign agent” law
On 5th February, Bulgaria’s Parliament voted overwhelmingly to reject, for the fifth time, a “foreign agents” bill proposed by the far right Revival (Vazrazhdane) party. The bill, which sought to require individuals and organisations receiving foreign funding to register with the Ministry of Justice, was defeated by 112 votes to 38, with 48 abstentions. MPs from GERB-UDF, We Continue the Change–Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB), and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms opposed the proposal, while Vazrazhdane and a few Socialist MPs supported it. The debate grew heated, with opposition MPs denouncing the bill as undemocratic and targeting journalists and civil society. Speaker Natalya Kiselova twice suspended the session as deputies clashed and traded insults.
Freedom of peaceful assembly
Protests over salary policies and working conditions in the Bulgarian public sector
In April 2025, medical staff in Bulgaria took to the streets to demand decent pay. Employees of the Sveta Ekaterina hospital in Sofia, joined by students and young doctors from several university centres, protested for a minimum salary increase of 20%. They highlighted poor working conditions, staff shortages, and the wide gap between doctors’ salaries in Bulgaria and elsewhere in the European Union.
These protests were not isolated. Medical staff across the country expressed solidarity with their colleagues in Sofia, demanding not only higher pay but also genuine investment in the healthcare system. Protesters warned that without urgent reforms, the exodus of medical professionals will continue, risking the collapse of public healthcare.
Demands have also come from cultural workers. In May, museum and gallery staff mobilised for pay rises and greater support for Bulgaria’s chronically underfunded cultural sector. They staged symbolic protests to underline how public policies neglect cultural institutions.
The discontent has also spread to the transport sector. Also in May, Sofia’s public transport drivers and workers staged a prolonged strike over salaries and working conditions. The strike caused major disruption in the city, and the absence of an agreement with the authorities prolonged the blockade, though the metro remained operational.
These protests show the widespread dissatisfaction with pay and working conditions in Bulgaria’s public sector. From healthcare to culture to transport, workers have common demands for fair wages, safe working environments and proper recognition of their work. These mobilisations have been a means of expressing concern about the sustainability of public services in the absence of substantive reforms.
Unprecedented protests in Bulgaria’s public media
In May 2025, employees of Bulgaria’s three largest public media institutions – BNT (national television), BNR (national radio), and BTA (national news agency) – staged a joint protest to demand a minimum 15% salary increase. This marked the first time these institutions had demonstrated together, reflecting deep-rooted dissatisfaction across the state media sector.
Protesters pointed out that salaries in public media have remained extremely low and have failed to keep pace with economic realities. Many journalists earn below the national average while working under pressure and demanding conditions. Media union representatives accused the government of lacking the political will to reform public media financing.
Low pay and poor investment in staff and technology are driving journalists into the private sector or abroad. This exodus undermines the resilience of public media against political or commercial pressure, reduces its capacity to produce quality journalism, and weakens media pluralism. The problem is compounded by Bulgaria’s already fragile press freedom, with the country losing significant ground in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index compared to 2024.
Despite the protest gaining visibility and support from organisations such as AEJ-Bulgaria, the authorities have yet to propose concrete solutions. Journalists are demanding not only higher wages but also guarantees of editorial independence and the creation of a transparent funding model for public media. AEJ stressed that this moment is decisive for the future of free journalism in Bulgaria.
The situation in Bulgaria mirrors wider regional trends: across Eastern Europe, public media remain underfunded, politically vulnerable, and structurally unsupported. The Bulgarian protests may set an important precedent within a European context marked by polarisation, disinformation, and declining trust in traditional media.
Freedom of expression
MP refuses question, discredits journalist
On 9th April 2025, Delyan Peevski, a Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) MP, refused to answer questions from Eurocom TV journalist Kristiana Stefanova during a media scrum in the corridor of the National Assembly. Peevski told her, “I’m not talking to you,” and accused her of acting under external influence with the remark: “Did you fulfill your orders? Have a nice day!”
Stefanova had attempted to ask why MPs had blocked the questioning of police officers involved in a major anti-smuggling operation in Plovdiv, in which senior police officials were suspected of obstructing the exposure of a smuggling channel. When Peevski refused to respond, she invited fellow journalists to repeat her question, but none did. Instead, Peevski took a question from a representative of friendly media outlet PIK, which directly countered Stefanova’s query by asking whether the National Assembly was wasting too much time on hearings instead of passing laws. Peevski readily agreed with the suggestion, a move that further undermined Stefanova.
The Association of European Journalists (AEJ) Bulgaria condemned both Peevski’s behaviour and the lack of solidarity from other journalists present, stressing: “When accredited journalists ask questions in the public interest and comply with the rules of conduct in the building, they must receive answers from deputies.”