Bulgaria: Nineteen Years (19!) in the European Union

Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007 alongside Romania. Since then, the country has continued its gradual integration into European structures: in 2025, it became a member of the Schengen Area, and in 2026, it joined the eurozone.

This means that 19 years have passed since Bulgaria became one of the EU Member States that not only benefits from various European Union financial instruments but also enjoys broad access to knowledge, expertise, and collaborative networks across Europe. As several speakers at the seminar emphasized, civil society should be regarded as a central pillar of democratic development. It enables European citizens to have a stronger voice in decision-making and encourages broader participation in discussions about the future direction of their country and society.

At the same time, however, Bulgaria has experienced a period of dynamic political change. Between 2021 and 2026 (inclusive), the country held nine elections, most of them snap elections. The frequency of these elections reflects the instability of the political environment. Society is becoming increasingly fatigued not only by the constant political changes but also by a growing loss of interest in following political developments. In this context, an important question arises: what is the role of an active civil society in shaping the country's transformation processes?

Cillian Lohan, who also serves as President of the Civil Society Organisations' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), highlighted Bulgaria's active engagement in Brussels and its representation at the European Union level:

"A resilient democracy depends on a free and independent civil society. We support all those who wish to be engaged in making the EU stronger and more effective. That means working together, collaborating, defending each other and at the same time having the space to challenge each other. Our Bulgarian members are active in Brussels but also clearly very well connected to the grassroots organsiations in Bulgaria. We stand ready to support them and to continue to represent them."

During personal conversations, it was emphasised that the landscape of civil society in Bulgaria is complex and far from homogeneous. Some organisations consistently strive to maintain their independence from political influence, focusing on civic participation, strengthening democracy, and representing the interests of society. At the same time, there are organisations that are perceived in public discourse as being more closely affiliated with particular political parties, or that operate in an environment where funding structures and political influence may raise questions about the extent of their independence.

This complexity is also reflected in broader international assessments. For example, Freedom House has highlighted challenges related to institutional transparency and the risk of political influence across various public institutions and sectors in Bulgaria. Similarly, civil society indices such as CIVICUS describe Bulgaria as a country where civic space remains relatively open, albeit with certain restrictions and uneven development.

Participants in the discussions also frequently emphasised issues related to quality of life, including the cost of living, housing affordability, and access to education. They argued that it is through these everyday challenges that people experience the European Union beyond the so-called "Brussels bubble." In other words, citizens want to experience Europe not as a distant political institution but as a practical and tangible part of their daily lives. As Sebastián Rodríguez, Campaign Strategist at European Movement International, noted, this expectation represents a reasonable and legitimate demand of the political system.

Active civic participation—including public demonstrations and protests—is another essential component of civil society, with young people often at the forefront of these movements.

"Young people's willingness to engage is evident, yet the education system has struggled to keep pace. While young people are relatively active in expressing their views, the system itself remains fairly conservative, making it challenging to introduce new and innovative approaches into formal education. In this environment, the National Youth Forum of Bulgaria is widely recognised as the key anchor organisation representing the interests of young people," emphasised Katrīna Leitāne, Member of the Civil Society Organisations' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee.

One of the seminar's most significant presentations focused on Bulgaria's recent parliamentary elections (2026). Antoinette Nikolova, Director of the Balkan Free Media Initiative, presented research entitled Fighting TikTokocracy in the Balkans: A Roadmap for Countering Algorithmic Manipulation in Europe. The study examined how social media influenced the electoral process and political competition for voters' attention and support. The organisation monitored the online information environment to identify the strategies employed by political actors and assess their impact on public opinion.

The findings were concerning. The documented practices raised serious questions about the integrity of the electoral process, transparency, and adherence to the principles of good governance. The research identified several methods through which digital tools were used to influence the election environment:

• the creation of large numbers of fake accounts;
• the renaming and repurposing of existing social media pages with substantial audiences—for example, pages originally dedicated to second-hand car parts or other unrelated interests;
• the hijacking and modification of existing hashtags.

Recognising that these activities involved not merely isolated posts but hundreds of coordinated pieces of content, the organisation contacted representatives of TikTok and Facebook to report the situation and urged them to remove pages involved in coordinated manipulative campaigns.

This issue is particularly significant given the role of social media within Bulgaria's information environment. According to the research, 65% of adults use Facebook, while 70% of people obtain their primary daily news and information from social media platforms.

Comparable trends can also be observed in Latvia. According to the National Electronic Mass Media Council's (NEPLP) 2025 survey Media Content Consumption Habits of Latvian Residents (in Latvian), social media are used most frequently by respondents aged 16–30: 95% use them at least once a week, while 89% do so almost every day or every day. The survey also identified Facebook as the most widely used social media platform in Latvia. These findings suggest that digital disinformation and algorithmic manipulation have the potential to significantly influence public opinion and democratic processes in both countries.

Civil society organisations and individual activists also played an important role during this "electoral battle." They were encouraged to identify and report suspicious pages, fake accounts, and coordinated manipulation campaigns.

The presentation concluded with a remark that vividly captured today's challenges within the digital information environment:

"Nothing creates meaning anymore. Everything is true."

With this statement, the speaker highlighted a reality in which information overload and coordinated manipulation make it increasingly difficult for citizens to distinguish factual information from misleading or deliberately fabricated content.

This report on the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) seminar Connecting EU Seminar: In Defence of European Values: The Power of Civil Society was prepared with the financial support of the Society Integration Foundation of Latvia.

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