Bulgaria: An Overview

Updated May 21, 2024

Bulgaria: An Overview

After decades of single-party communist rule and a difficult

transition period in the 1990s, Bulgaria joined NATO in

2004 and the European Union (EU) in 2007. Bulgaria’s

Black Sea location and NATO and EU memberships make

it an important U.S. partner. Members of Congress may

monitor several issues in Bulgaria with implications for the

U.S.-Bulgaria strategic partnership, including energy

security, military modernization, building resilience to

external authoritarian influence, and combating corruption

and organized crime. Prolonged political instability in

Bulgaria may have implications for U.S. interests. Bulgaria

is scheduled to hold a snap parliamentary election on June

9, 2024—its sixth parliamentary election since April

2021—alongside elections to the European Parliament.

President Radev, who appointed the caretaker governments

that presided over Bulgaria for much of the past three years.

Ahead of the June 9, 2024, election, voter intention polls

suggest the next parliament also could be fragmented.

GERB currently leads polls with around 26% support,

followed by PP-DB (17%), DPS (15%), Revival (14%),

BSP (9%), and smaller parties.

Figure 1. Bulgaria at a Glance

Domestic Overview

Under Bulgaria’s parliamentary system, the prime minister

leads the government, which exercises executive power.

The directly elected president is the head of state and

commander in chief. President Rumen Radev was reelected

to a second term in 2021 with backing from the Bulgarian

Socialist Party (BSP), which is considered to have a more

pro-Russian orientation. Dimitar Glavchev was appointed

to lead a caretaker government in April 2024.

Acting Prime Minister Glavchev’s caretaker government

was preceded by the pro-Western government of Prime

Minister Nikolai Denkov, which comprised two blocs:

Denkov’s We Continue the Change and Democratic

Bulgaria (PP-DB), and Citizens for European Development

of Bulgaria-Union of Democratic Forces (GERB-SDS).

That government collapsed less than a year into its mandate

when the post of prime minister was due to rotate from

Denkov to a GERB designee. The Denkov government’s

priorities had included finalizing adoption of the euro as

Bulgaria’s currency, joining the EU’s Schengen area of free

movement, and countering Russian influence, particularly

in Bulgaria’s security and energy sectors.

Bulgaria has experienced a prolonged period of political

instability in recent years. A wave of anti-corruption

protests in 2020 and 2021 weakened then-Prime Minister

Boyko Borisov and his political party, GERB, which had

led successive governments for most of the preceding 12

years. GERB and BPS, the two largest parties in the 2010s,

lost some support to parties that ran on anti-corruption

platforms, such as DB and PP, as well as the populist There

Is Such a People (ITN) and the pro-Russian Revival. The

Movement for Rights and Freedom (DPS), which is mostly

backed by ethnic Turkish voters, has had stable support.

Polarization and close election results have complicated

stable governance. GERB and PP-DB were the top finishers

in recent elections and share pro-Western platforms, yet

relations between the two blocs are fraught. Some analysts

assess that prolonged instability has politically strengthened

Source: CRS figure using CIA World Factbook and IMF data.

Corruption, Organized Crime, and the Rule of Law

Corruption, organized crime, and rule-of-law challenges

intensified during Bulgaria’s transition in the 1990s. Citing

concern that these issues had not been resolved when

Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007, Brussels continued to

monitor reforms through the Cooperation and Verification

Mechanism (CVM). The CVM closed in late 2023, when

the EU assessed that Bulgaria met benchmarks in judicial

reform and in combating corruption and organized crime.

Some observers assess that corruption and organized crime

remain significant barriers to good governance and

economic growth. Bulgaria is consistently among the worstscored EU member states in Transparency International’s

Corruption Perceptions Index. The U.S. State Department’s

2023 Investment Climate Statement for Bulgaria asserts

that “high-level corruption, particularly in public

procurement, remains a serious concern.” The Biden

Administration has imposed sanctions on several prominent

Bulgarians for corruption (see below).

Economy

The World Bank classifies Bulgaria as an upper-middleincome country. Bulgaria’s strategic location, relatively low

business costs, and EU membership have attracted

investment in such areas as information technology and the

automotive industry. Gross domestic product (GDP)

contracted by nearly 4% in 2020 but grew by 7.7% in 2021.

Growth slowed to 3.9% in 2022 and 1.9% in 2023, due in

part to the economic impacts of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Bulgaria is to receive €6.2 billion in EU COVID-19

recovery and resilience grants and loans.

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Bulgaria: An Overview

Bulgaria is among the poorest EU member states, although

living conditions improved alongside EU integration.

Barriers to growth include infrastructure deficiencies,

corruption, and an unpredictable legal environment.

Demographic decline also poses a challenge; peaking at

nearly 9 million in the 1980s, the population is now

estimated at 6.4 million.

Foreign and Security Policy

Closely aligned with the Soviet Union during the Cold War,

Bulgaria adopted a Euro-Atlantic foreign policy in the

1990s. Alongside Bulgaria’s EU and NATO integration,

Bulgarian leaders generally sought to preserve good

relations with Russia. Pro-Russian sentiment and

ambivalent views of NATO persist among certain political

parties and segments of Bulgarian society. Some analysts

assess that Bulgaria’s corruption challenges, weak media

climate, and energy dependency have exposed the country

to Russian influence and hybrid threats.

Despite greater political fragmentation in Bulgaria in recent

years, its governments have largely supported Ukraine.

Bulgaria has backed EU sanctions against Russia, agreed to

host a multinational NATO battlegroup, expelled dozens of

Russian diplomatic staff on suspicion of espionage, and

provided military aid to Ukraine. Bulgaria also hosts around

72,000 Ukrainian refugees and is seeking to reduce reliance

on Russian energy supplies (see below). Bulgaria’s defense

industry produces artillery ammunition that is compatible

with Ukrainian equipment and reportedly plans to expand

production to include NATO-standard ammunition.

Although measures to support Ukraine generally draw

support in Bulgaria’s parliament, some have been

contentious. In December 2023, for example, parliament

approved the transfer of 100 Soviet-era armored vehicles to

Ukraine, overriding President Radev’s veto. Ukrainian

officials criticized Radev’s position that such transfers

would prolong the conflict.

Black Sea security is a key issue for Bulgaria. Bulgarian

officials have expressed concern about Russia’s ambitions

to “dominate the Black Sea” and security threats stemming

from the war in Ukraine. Since 2022, Bulgaria has

generally welcomed NATO initiatives in the Black Sea

region. Bulgaria hosts an Italian-led NATO multinational

battlegroup and plans to invest in supportive infrastructure.

In early 2024, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey signed an

agreement to cooperate on countering sea mines.

Bulgarian officials have pledged to revive long-delayed

equipment upgrades and enhance defense capabilities.

Bulgaria spent an estimated 1.84% of its GDP on defense in

2023 and plans to meet NATO’s 2% target in 2024. In

2019, Bulgaria agreed to purchase eight F-16 fighter jets

from the United States at an estimated cost of $1.67 billion;

in 2022, it moved to purchase eight additional F-16s. In

2023, parliament approved the purchase of 183 U.S. Stryker

vehicles for an estimated cost of $1.5 billion.

U.S.-Bulgaria Relations

During the 1990s and 2000s, the United States provided

foreign aid and diplomatic support for Bulgaria’s domestic

transition and integration into NATO and the EU. The

United States and Bulgaria maintain good relations.

Members of Congress may assess U.S.-Bulgaria ties in the

context of U.S. policy toward the Black Sea region. Section

1247 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal

Year 2024 (P.L. 118-31) requires the President to direct the

National Security Council to develop an interagency

strategy with regard to the Black Sea region and Black Sea

states (including Bulgaria) and specifies goals and

objectives under such a strategy.

Security Cooperation

In 2006, the United States and Bulgaria signed a Defense

Cooperation Agreement allowing joint use of four

Bulgarian military facilities. In 2020, the two countries

agreed to a 10-year military cooperation road map. Since

2022, the United States has deployed additional troops and

equipment to Bulgaria and enhanced bilateral cooperation

with Bulgaria on countering disinformation and bolstering

cybersecurity. The United States has provided more than

$260 million in security assistance to Bulgaria since 2018,

with emphasis on military modernization, Black Sea

maritime domain awareness, and cybersecurity.

Sanctions

The Biden Administration has used sanctions to address

corruption in Bulgaria. In June 2021, the Department of the

Treasury sanctioned three Bulgarian individuals and 64

associated entities for corruption under the Global

Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (P.L. 114328, Title XII, Subtitle F; as implemented through

Executive Order 13818). In February 2023, Treasury

sanctioned five current and former Bulgarian officials and

five entities for corruption under Global Magnitsky.

Treasury’s press release states that the “diverse profiles and

longstanding prominence in Bulgarian politics [of the

sanctioned persons] illustrate the extent to which corruption

has become entrenched across ministries, parties, and stateowned industries.” The State Department has imposed

travel bans on several Bulgarian officials for corruption

under Section 7031(c) of annual Department of State,

Foreign Operations, and Related Programs appropriations

legislation (P.L. 117-328, Division K, for FY2023).

Energy Cooperation

The United States supports Bulgaria’s steps to end

dependency on Russian nuclear fuel, crude oil, and natural

gas supplies. U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) helped

Bulgaria cope with a gas supply crisis triggered when

Russia’s Gazprom cut deliveries in April 2022. U.S.-backed

regional projects, such as a Greece-Bulgaria interconnector

enabling gas imports from Azerbaijan, and Bulgaria’s stake

in a new LNG terminal in Greece are expected to help

diversify supplies. The U.S. International Development

Finance Corporation has approved financing of up to $365

million for an expansion of Bulgaria’s underground gas

storage facility. In 2023, Bulgaria signed a memorandum of

understanding with U.S. firm Westinghouse on expanding

the country’s sole nuclear power plant. In February 2024,

the United States and Bulgaria signed an intergovernmental

agreement to cooperate on developing Bulgaria’s civil

nuclear power program and clean energy sources.

Sarah E. Garding, Analyst in European Affairs

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Bulgaria: An Overview

Disclaimer

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