Новости за 26.11.2025

A large protest is underway at "Nezavisimost" Square in Sofia, organized by the opposition coalition "We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB), targeting the government’s draft Budget for 2026, particularly the proposed increases in social security contributions and the tax on dividends. Among the demonstrators, actor Filip Bukov voiced frustration over the allocation of public funds. “I want the taxes I pay to go where they should - for salaries of medical personnel, for education,... Читать дальше...

Heavy weather alerts have been issued for Thursday as meteorologists warn of a volatile mix of rain, snow and strong winds across Bulgaria. Authorities have activated different warning levels for several regions, cautioning that localised downpours could quickly intensify. In some areas, rainfall is expected to reach 25 to 40 l/sq....

Today’s nationwide protest focuses on the draft budget for 2026, which is moving to its second reading in parliamentary committees. The dissatisfaction expressed by employers’ groups is now reinforced by the European Commission, which warned that the financial framework Bulgaria is preparing may breach the EU’s fiscal rules. Vasil Velev, head of the Association of Industrial Capital, said the warnings from Brussels only confirm what economists have been predicting for months: an excessive deficit... Читать дальше...

North Macedonia’s Prime Minister, Hristijan Mickoski, dismissed the assault on Bulgarian journalist Vladimir Perev as an act of self-inflicted harm, suggesting the incident was being manipulated for political purposes, BGNES reported. Further reading: Eighty-Year-Old Bulgarian Journalist Attacked in Skopje Amid Rising Anti-Bulgarian Hostility Perev was attacked on November 21 inside a shop in central Skopje, in front of multiple witnesses, and the case was formally registered with the police....

A massive fire tore through several residential towers in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district, leaving a high death toll and overwhelming the city’s emergency services. Initial reports from local media spoke of at least four fatalities and three injured, but fire officials later confirmed that 13 people had died after flames engulfed seven high-rise buildings in a densely populated housing complex. Nine victims were found dead at the scene, and four more succumbed to their injuries in hospital....

Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova has warned that relations between Sofia and Moscow are at historic lows, placing the responsibility primarily on the Bulgarian side. She singled out the government’s handling of the Lukoil case as a major point of tension, stressing that Russia will defend its interests and seek legal remedies internationally if necessary. Mitrofanova accused Bulgaria of pursuing an increasingly Russophobic policy....

The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not received any official confirmation from Serbian authorities concerning the alleged “arrest of Bulgarian spies” or the “dismantling of a Bulgarian spy network” in Serbia. Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev addressed the claims made by Aleksandar Vulin, according to BGNES reports. Vulin, former Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and ex-director of the Serbian Information and Security Agency (BIA), who remains a close ally of President Aleksandar Vučić, publicly... Читать дальше...

The Bulgarian government has approved a 120 leva (€61) Christmas bonus for pensioners living below the poverty line. This payment will be distributed alongside December pensions to approximately 536,000 beneficiaries. A total of 64....

A recent tragedy on the Plovdiv Ring Road has sparked public outrage and demands for urgent road safety measures. On Monday evening, a family of three - Maria and Todor Pushkov and their 14-year-old daughter - lost their lives after being struck head-on by a heavy truck. Their youngest child, aged seven, remains in critical condition in hospital....

The agricultural and forestry sectors in Bulgaria staged a protest in front of the Council of Ministers, demanding fair and adequate salaries for employees working in state administrations overseeing agriculture, food safety, environmental, and water control. The demonstration was organized by the National Federation of Agriculture and Forestry within the "Podkrepa" Confederation of Trade Unions. Anelia Ivanova, one of the organizers, emphasized that civil servants in the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency... Читать дальше...

A new attempt to call a referendum aimed at delaying Bulgaria’s transition to the euro would once again be unconstitutional and ultimately futile, constitutional law expert Assoc. Prof. Borislav Tsekov said on NOVA NEWS....

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, discussed how to pass Moscow’s proposed “peace plan” to US President Donald Trump’s circle in a way that would allow Washington to present the ideas as its own. Bloomberg, which obtained a recording of their 29 October conversation, reported that the two officials focused on using Steve Witkoff, a long-time Trump associate and the US president’s special envoy, as the intermediary. Читать дальше...

The Anti-Corruption Commission in Bulgaria has launched a wide-ranging investigation into an alleged property fraud and money-laundering network connected to the "Greatness" (Velichie) political party. According to information from Bulgarian media, several people have been detained as part of the operation. The actions began early this morning, when teams from the Commission, supported by gendarmerie and police units, carried out coordinated searches at multiple locations across the country....

GERB leader Boyko Borissov declared in parliament that Bulgaria will enter the eurozone on January 1, stressing that ongoing demonstrations by the opposition will not alter the timeline. He responded to calls for protests from Ivaylo Mirchev, Bozhidar Bozhanov and Martin Dimitrov from "We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB), describing public demonstrations as a normal element of democratic life, while insisting that the process of adopting the euro is already set in motion and will proceed as planned. Читать дальше...

Martin Dimitrov, a WCC-DB MP and member of the Budget Committee, criticized the Bulgarian government’s handling of fiscal policy and recent legislative initiatives, describing them as opaque and potentially harmful to the country’s financial system. Speaking to Bulgarian National Radio, Dimitrov highlighted the proposal to grant the Bulgarian sports totalizator a concession, noting that it bypassed the usual legislative scrutiny between the first and second readings of the budget. “This reminds me of the 27-second commission recently created... Читать дальше...

"Without fundamental rights, there is no rule of law, and without the rule of law, there is no democracy." This principle was central to the Sofia conference "Dialogue on Defense and Democracy. Fortress of Freedom," where Andreas Accardo, Head of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights’ (FRA) “Institutional Cooperation and Charter of the European Union” Department, was a panelist, BNR reported. ...

New BNB figures for October 2025 show that lending to households continues to rise at a noticeably faster pace than deposits. Loans to individuals and NPISHs increased by 21 percent compared to October 2024, while household deposits grew by 13.8 percent over the same period....

Bulgaria is moving toward a framework that would allow the state to take part in a possible acquisition of Lukoil’s Bulgarian operations, with a significant expansion of the financial role of the Bulgarian Development Bank. Ruling parties GERB, DPS-New Beginning, BSP and TISP have jointly filed amendments for the second reading of the 2026 state budget law that would open the door for the BDB to participate in transactions involving Russian-owned companies. The proposal appears aimed at enabling... Читать дальше...