Crisis Chronology

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BULGARIA

09/07/2023

Extremely heavy rainfall causes fatal flooding in Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria.

05/10/2023

Borissov announces that GERB will nominate European Commissioner for Innovation Mariya Gabriel to be the country’s new PM. It is seen as an attempt to force support from the anti-corruption parties, who have said they would not allow their members to serve in the cabinet.

04/28/2023

An agreement in principle is reached to restore Ukraine grain trade to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

04/19/2023

Bulgaria bans imports of Ukrainian grain.

04/02/2023

Government reelected

GERB wins 26.5% of the vote in parliamentary elections, giving it the right to form a government. The pro-Western coalition led by Continuing the Change (PP) and Democratic Bulgaria won 24.9 %. The nationalist Revival party, which is pro-Russia, anti-NATO and anti-EU, took third place with 14.4 percent, up several points from the previous election in October.

10/04/2022

No parties are able to agree on a governing coalition. Borissov has said he is uninterested in forming a government or being prime minister. The split between pro-Europe parties and pro-Russian parties has divided the country. The Change Continues lost some support and the nationalist Revival party and the pro-Russian Bulgarian Rise party gained seats, though they remain small.

10/01/2022

Voting in new parliamentary elections. GERB is ahead in polling, though far from a majority support. While GERB and Kiril Petrov’s We Continue the Change and the Democratic Bulgaria parties are all pro-Europe, the latter two refuse to form a coalition with GERB because of accusations of corruption facing party leader Boyko Borissov. However, strong pro-Russian support has given right-wing parties including Vaerrazhdane (Renewal), which might become the third-largest party in parliament.

07/06/2022

Violent protests in North Macedonia after government agrees to concessions about Bulgarian demands on ethnic rights. Bulgaria has blocked North Macedonia’s entry into the EU. The EU proposed a negotiating framework for North Macedonia and Bulgaria that included changes in the constitution that would recognize the rights of Bulgarians in North Macedonia and also allow Bulgarian to dispute the distinctiveness of the Macedonian language and classify it as a Bulgarian dialect. (This would not affect the wider world’s classifications.) Bulgaria accepted the framework and lifted the veto on North Macedonian entry to the EU. However, the opposition in North Macedonia, fomented the protests, falsely claiming that it is an attempt by the EU to deny Macedonian identity.

06/22/2022

Government falls

In a close vote, 123 to 116, parliament passes no-confidence resolution against Kiril Petkov’s government. The ruling coalition had lost its majority, faulted for budget spending and its opposition to North Macedonia’s admission to the EU.

04/26/2022

Russia cuts off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria after they refuse to pay for the supplies in rubles, though contracts specify that payments are to be made in dollars.

03/20/2022

Bulgaria says it will not renew its contract with Russian Gasprom when the contract expires at the end of 2022.

03/18/2022

Former PM Borisov is detained on suspicion of misuse of EU funds.

12/14/2021

New government confirmed

Parliament approves Petkov government a coalition of his We Continue the Change party, the leftist Bulgarian Socialist Party, the anti-elite There Is Such A People party, and the liberal group Democratic Bulgaria. It will control 134 seats in the 240-seat parliament.

12/11/2021

President Radev charges Kiril Petkov of We Continue the Change to form a government with his coalition.

11/21/2021

President Rumen Radev is easily reelected to this largely ceremonial post.

11/19/2021

We Continue the Change wins plurality

We Continue the Change party wins the largest number of seats in the election 11/14, gaining 26% of the vote. GERB won 20%, the ethnic Turkish Movement of Rights and Freedoms 16%, There is Such a People is down to 9%.

11/14/2021

General election. Exit polls indicate that We Continue the Change party showing very strongly. Its leaders, Kiril Petkov and Assen Vassilev, became admired as ministers in the caretaker government of Stefan Yanev 5/21-9/21 by exposing corruption, and both are close to President Radev.

07/12/2021

New governing party claims victory

Trifonov claims victory and says that the party will not try to form a governing coalition, but instead rule as a minority government.

07/08/2021

Borisov’s GERB and a new populist party, There is Such a People (ITN), led by celebrity Slavi Trifonov, are essentially tied in voting for parliament with around 22% each. However, it will be difficult for GERB to find allies to form a government.

04/05/2021

Election commission releases partial vote count giving Borissov’s party winning 25% of the vote, There is Such a People 17%, the Socialists 15%, Democratic Bulgaria 10%, MRF 9% and Rise Up! Mafia Out! 5%.

04/03/2021

Voting for parliament. A surge in protest parties has put Borissov’s reelection in jeopardy. His GERB party will remain the largest, but with only about 25% of the vote. The Socialists win 17%. A new anti-establishment party (There is Such a People party) founded by populist TV host and singer Slavi Trifonov finished second with 17% and two other protest parties, Democratic Bulgaria and Rise Up! Mafia Out! may well enter parliament. The ethnic Turkish party MRF won about 10% of the vote. The strength of the opposition parties may make it difficult for Borisov to assemble a majority.

11/17/2020

Bulgaria blocks EU accession talks with North Macedonia, demanding guarantees that North Macedonia won’t claim the existence of its national minority within Bulgaria’s borders and that it has no territorial claims.

11/09/2020

Bulgaria reports highest number of deaths due to COVID-19 pandemic.

10/07/2020

Bulgaria reports highest number of new cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

09/02/2020

Peaceful protest against Borisov turns violent.

08/14/2020

Borisov calls for a grand national assembly to vote on constitutional changes and promises to resign if it is approved. The opposition expresses skepticism.

08/07/2020

Police suppress protests against the government.

07/21/2020

Government survives no-confidence vote, brought by the Socialists to protest the lack of effort in fighting corruption. PM Borissov has discussed changing the cabinet, but rules out an new election.

07/10/2020

The EU central bank accepts Bulgaria and Croatia into the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, a step toward acceptance in the EU.

03/13/2020

Bulgaria declares a state of emergency due to COVID-19.

01/07/2020

Turkey and Russia open TurkStream pipeline, which will make Turkey an energy provider to the EU. However, the two countries, while moving closer, still differ over Syria and Libya. The pipeline will also provide natural gas to Bulgaria, bypassing Ukraine.

08/12/2019

Interior Minister suggests Russia may have aided National Revenue Bureau attack. Some see Bulgaria’s membership in NATO as a way for Russia to learn about NATO plans, which would require Russia to maintain some control over Bulgarian government policy. Russia controls almost all of Bulgaria’s energy supply.

08/10/2019

Largest cyberattack in Bulgarian history steals data of nearly every working adult from the National Revenue Bureau. The hack is revealed as Bulgaria is finalizing a sale of F-16s from the US to bring Bulgarian air force us to NATO levels.

08/05/2019

Government accuses Kristiyan Boikov of National Revenue Bureau hack, although many find the government’s case weak.

12/14/2018

EU commission praises government measures against corruption, but the opposition denounces the report.

01/25/2018

Government wins no-confidence vote over a lack of progress in combatting corruption.

01/18/2018

Bulgarian parliament approves friendship treaty with Macedonia.

01/15/2018

Macedonian parliament approves friendship treaty with Bulgaria, though VMRO DPMNE abstains.

01/12/2018

Parliament overturns presidential veto of anti-graft legislation.

01/02/2018

Pres Rumen Radev vetoes anti-corruption legislation passed by parliament on grounds that it does not adequately safeguard investigations from partisanship.

12/20/2017

Bulgarian parliament passes anti-corruption law that creates a special unit for investigating high public officers. Parliament would appoint its management, and critics say that might allow partisan investigations.