The Impact of Political Turbulence on Civic Space in Bulgaria
fragment analizy
Although Bulgaria has been a Member-State of the European Union since
2007, it is still considered to be a semi-consolidated democracy. Additionally,
the freedom of press in Bulgaria ranks lowest in the whole European Union
and second lowest after Turkey in the Balkan region. Bulgarian civil society
organizations are still evolving their sustainability.
Since 2020 Bulgarian authorities have been struggling to find a proper
response to the health, economical and social crisis triggered by the COVID-
19 pandemic. Between December 2020 and October 2021, Bulgaria had the
lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the EU, despite vaccine availability,
and witnessed some of the highest mortality and infection rates. Those
worrying morbidity statistics are usually attributed to an atmosphere of
distrust fueled by fake news, often disseminated by medical professionals,
as well as the poor the state of the national health system.
