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Bulgaria

Bulgaria is located in the southeast part of the Balkans. The country borders on the Black Sea, which attracts tourists all year round.

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All Content on this topic

Former Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov pictured at a polling station during the country's general election, on October 27, 2024

Bulgaria: Borisov's conservative GERB leads in early results

Former PM Boyko Borisov's center-right GERB party appears to have come out on top, with between 25% and 27% of the vote.
PoliticsOctober 28, 2024
Two men at Sofia Pride in 2024

Gay Russo-Belarusian couple seeks asylum in Bulgaria

Though Bulgaria recently passed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, Andrei and Alex still hope to live there free from persecution.
SocietyOctober 26, 2024
Serbia: Azis at a concert in Belgrade, September 2024

'They forgave me for being gay and Roma due to my voice'

Despite being openly gay and of Roma origin, singer Azis became a superstar in his native country Bulgaria and abroad.
SocietyOctober 17, 202403:35 min
Lebenswege - Momente, die alles verändern 12329

Paths of life — moments that change everything

Looking back, every life has at least one turning point. Change often comes about unexpectedly.
SocietyOctober 10, 202442:35 min
A man in a blue shirt and sweater (Ivan Krastev ) sits on a blue sofa in front of a bookshelf full of books

Krastev: 'Trump and Harris will not accept a Putin victory'

Ivan Krastev speaks to DW about democracy, migration and the possible impact of the US election on the war in Ukraine.
PoliticsOctober 4, 2024
Mel Mills, Bulgaria, August 2024

The British man who found happiness in Bulgaria

British actor and bodybuilder Mel Mills found a home in the small village of Obrochishte in Bulgaria 11 years ago.
SocietyAugust 23, 202403:33 min
A field of poorly developed corn

Will a heat wave in Eastern Europe upset global food supply?

In Eastern Europe, heat and water scarcity are causing crop failures and disrupting agricultural supply chains.
BusinessJuly 31, 2024
View of a municipal worker cooling off while standing next to a city fountain in Bucharest

Parts of Europe swelter under brutal heatwave

Italy is sweltering under high temperatures, just as the country reaches peak tourist season.
ClimateJuly 12, 202402:13 min
Albania, a view of a rural coastal region

Bulgaria, North Macedonia clash over Albania census

Did Bulgaria encourage ethnic Macedonians in Albania to declare themselves ethnic Bulgarians in last year's census?
PoliticsJune 14, 202404:14 min
A mass of cheering people hold hands with their arms upfifted while some Hungarian flags can be seen in the background

EU elections: No hard right turn in the east

Poland, Slovakia and Hungary delivered the biggest surprises, with Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban looking vulnerable.
PoliticsJune 10, 2024
Deputy rises his hand in the parliament plenary hall of The National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria during a session

Bulgaria: Parliamentary elections begin alongside EU vote

Bulgarians are not only voting in EU elections but also in a sixth National Assembly election in three years.
PoliticsJune 9, 2024
Boyko Borisov (left) and Deljan Peewski (right) sit beside each other at a table, May 14, 2024

Bulgaria to elect sixth parliament in three years

Familiar faces and polarizing figures could return to power as Bulgarians vote for national and EU representatives.
PoliticsJune 7, 2024
Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova walks out of the polling station in Skopje

North Macedonia: Right-wing opposition set for big victory

VMRO-DPMNE's candidate Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova is set to become president. Her party is also winning in parliament.
PoliticsMay 8, 2024
A crowd of people, some of whom are holding Macedonian flags

North Macedonia: Frustrated voters set to punish government

On May 8, 1.8 million voters in North Macedonia will determine the future path of the Balkan country.
PoliticsMay 7, 2024
DW Podcast | Inside Europe | provisorisch f ROAD

Inside Europe 25 April 2024

Fifty years after Portugal's Carnation Revolution, we journey through the mutinous streets of Lisbon, plus the EU's Green Deal is in trouble. Can it be saved? We also focus on the topic of land — Danish land that’s been deliberately flooded, Bulgarian land deliberately left un-tilled and Italian land bought up by the mafia. And: why Slovakia's brown bears have become a big wedge issue.
PoliticsApril 25, 202454:59 min
A Bulgaria Air plane at Frankfurt Airport

EU: Romania and Bulgaria join Schengen area by air and sea

The Schengen zone, which allows travel in Europe without border controls, has welcomed the two new countries.
TravelMarch 31, 2024
Vivi Vassileva | deutsch-bulgarische Musikerin

Percussionist Vivi Vassileva

German-Bulgarian percussionist Vivi Vassileva puts all she’s got into her performances.
CultureMarch 4, 202404:33 min
Drone image of solar panels on the roof of a building. The panels belong to the Izgrei energy community in Belozem, Bulgaria

Bulgaria: Pioneering grassroots energy project bears fruit

Bulgaria lags behind when it comes to clean energy production. But a tiny energy cooperative is leading the way.
Nature and EnvironmentJanuary 29, 2024
View of the lakeside town of Hallstatt in Austria with mountains in the background

Austrians happiest in EU, while Germans grow glummer

The Alpine nation topped an EU life satisfaction survey. The gap between EU states is closing, but Germany is slipping.
LifestyleJanuary 16, 2024
Bulgarien | Denkmal der sowjetischen Armee in Sofia

Bulgaria starts dismantling Soviet monument in Sofia

The "Monument to the Soviet Army" was built in 1954 to remember the tenth anniversary of Red Troops entering the city.
PoliticsDecember 14, 2023
A worker walks past a pipe at the construction site of the Bulgaria-Serbia gas pipeline, near Kostinbrod

Serbia opens pipeline to Bulgaria to diversify gas supplies

The new pipeline connecting Serbia with EU member Bulgaria aims to reduce Serbia's dependence on Russian gas.
PoliticsDecember 10, 2023
Gabriella Bankova is seen during her hunger strike

Fighting for trans rights in Bulgaria

Gabriella Bankova went on a hunger strike in the Bulgarian capital to be able to officially change her gender.
Human RightsDecember 2, 2023
A submerged promenade in Sochi on Russia's Black Sea coast

Winter storm pounds Black Sea region

A storm in the Black Sea region has caused severe damage. A state of emergency has been declared in many places.
CatastropheNovember 27, 20237 images
Homemade chilled tarator with ingredients on wooden rustic background.

The secret of Bulgarian yogurt

Bacteria to optimize digestion and extend life? Here's the story of an ancient superfood: Bulgarian yogurt.
CultureNovember 8, 2023
A smiling Vassil Terziev is seen walking through a door towards the camera

Bulgaria: Who is Vassil Terziev, Sofia's new mayor?

Sofia's new mayor, Vassil Terziev, wants to transform the Bulgarian capital. But can the political newcomer deliver?
PoliticsNovember 7, 2023
DW Sendung Euromaxx | Bulgarien Joghurt

Bulgarian yogurt: a fountain of youth?

The traditional dairy product is healthy and is said to prolong life: Is there anything to this belief?
LifestyleOctober 28, 202305:46 min
DW Euromaxx (Sendungslogo Composite)

Euromaxx - Lifestyle Europe

Halloween at Frankenstein castle, classical music on social media, and Bulgarian yogurt
LifestyleOctober 28, 202326:06 min
DW Euromaxx (Sendungslogo Composite)

Euromaxx - Lifestyle Europe

Piobbico, where ugly is beautiful, Belgian fries and an average German evening.
LifestyleOctober 13, 202326:06 min
A combine harvester at work in a field, Odessa region, southern Ukraine

Ukrainian grain: Why are eastern EU members banning imports?

Poland, Slovakia and Hungary have imposed unilateral import bans on Ukrainian grain. It's all about domestic politics.
PoliticsSeptember 20, 2023
A coastal city covered in mud and water

Climate change fueled catastrophic Libya flooding

After a deadly storm flooded Libya, a new study shows global heating made the deluge up to 50 times more likely.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 19, 2023
A man cleans a street on the aftermath of floods caused by heavy rains in Istanbul

Deadly storms and floods rage in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria

More than a dozen people died in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria as heavy rains hit those countries.
CatastropheSeptember 6, 2023
Türkei Kirklareli | Starkregen | Unwetter im Mittelmeerraum

Torrential rainfall in Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece

Severe rainstorms have lashed Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece, triggering floods and landslides.
CatastropheSeptember 6, 202301:56 min
The flags of North Macedonia (left) and the EU are seen in a glass on a table with flowers in the background, Skopje, North Macedonia, July 20, 2022

North Macedonia: How long before it can join the EU?

North Macedonia has been waiting since 2005 — longer than any other country — for EU accession negotiations to begin.
PoliticsAugust 30, 2023
Alexey Petrov

Bulgaria: Controversial businessman shot dead in Sofia

Alexey Petrov was former secret agent and government adviser on the fight against organized crime.
CrimeAugust 17, 2023
DW Podcast | Inside Europe | provisorisch f ROAD

Inside Europe - 10 August 2023

What the Niger coup means for France, Sweden’s freedom of speech laws are tested by book burnings and Bulgaria reckons with domestic violence. Also: A new inquiry opens up old questions about the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands, why are so many people experiencing homelessness in Germany? Russian LGBTQ+ refugees share their stories and French towns compete to host nuclear power plants.
PoliticsAugust 10, 202354:59 min
Protesters hold up placards during a demonstration against violence against women in Sofia, Bulgaria, July 31, 2023

Bulgaria: Mass protests highlight violence against women

The brutal assault on an 18-year-old woman and the leniency shown to her assailant sparked protests across Bulgaria.
Law and JusticeAugust 4, 2023
Bulgaria Demonstrations in front of the monument for the Soviet army in Sofia

Should Soviet monuments be dismantled?

The war in Ukraine reignites a debate: How should Soviet monuments in eastern Europe be dealt with?
CultureJuly 29, 202312:35 min
DW Arts Unveiled (Sendungslogo Composite)

Loud debates! Loud music!

One European nation loudly debates the presence of Soviet monuments, and another hosts a heavy metal festival.
CultureJuly 29, 202326:06 min
external

Bulgarian parents fight to save their disabled children

To ensure their disabled children have dignified, healthy lives, two Bulgarian mothers have taken very different paths.
SocietyJuly 24, 202305:33 min
People gather an imposing Soviet memorial.

Should Soviet monuments be dismantled or preserved?

The debate on how to deal with Soviet memorials has once again flared up in Eastern Europe. Let's zoom in on Bulgaria.
CultureJuly 9, 2023
People removing antisemitic symbols from a wall, Sofia, Bulgaria, 2022

Bulgaria: Concerns over a spike in antisemitic incidents

After a series of antisemitic incidents in the Bulgarian capital, Jewish community leaders say a line has been crossed.
ReligionJune 28, 2023
South African investigators at the scene in Constantia, Cape Town

South Africa: 4 Bulgarian nationals shot dead in Cape Town

The four deceased were found with gunshot wounds in the leafy suburb of Constantia.
CrimeMay 25, 2023
Kiril Petkov walking with other members of his party

Close race in Bulgaria's fifth election in two years

With inflation on voters' minds, preliminary results show a tight race between center-right GERB party and reformist PP.
PoliticsApril 3, 2023
Two black-and-white photos of Georgi Markov (left) attached by paperclips to a faded color photograph of Francesco Gullino (right)

Who was the Cold War 'umbrella assassin?'

A new documentary sheds some light on Francesco Gullino, the prime suspect in the 1978 murder of Georgi Markov.
CrimeMarch 21, 2023
A demonstrator holds up a cardboard placard with the image of missiles raining down on a Ukrainian mother and child, Sofia, Bulgaria, April 7, 2022

How Russia's Ukraine invasion impacted southeastern Europe

DW takes a closer look at how Russia's invasion of Ukraine has affected Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary and Romania.
ConflictsFebruary 23, 2023
Police and emergency media service seen on the site where the abandoned truck was found.

Bulgaria: 18 migrants found dead in truck

The truck had hidden close to 40 migrants from Afghanistan. Four Bulgarian suspects have been arrested.
MigrationFebruary 18, 2023
DW Podcast | Inside Europe | provisorisch f ROAD

Inside Europe 02.02.2023

Czechs elect a former NATO general as head of state, Turkey’s Erdogan clamps down on the political opposition and Spain repatriates the children of "Islamic State" fighters. Also: a million French people march against pension reform, it's game on for Ukrainian football despite the war, and meet the Bulgarian masked men and boys who chase evil spirits away.
PoliticsFebruary 2, 202354:59 min
Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiev in April 2022

How Bulgaria secretly armed Ukraine

Bulgaria supplied Ukraine with weapons through NATO deliveries, according to a new report.
PoliticsJanuary 21, 2023
This picture shows a view of the facility of the Lozenets-Nedyalsko natural gas transit pipeline to Turkey near the village of Lozenets on August 3, 2018. - The gas pipeline extension will increase the capacity of transited natural gas from 14 billion to 15.7 billion cubic metres a year,and will enable the transportation of gas in the opposite direction from Turkey to Bulgaria

Bulgaria signs deal for gas supplies via Turkey

Bulgargaz has penned a 13-year deal for access to Turkey's liquefied natural gas terminals and transit network.
PoliticsJanuary 3, 2023
Queues of cars at the border between Croatia and Slovenia

Schengen zone: Croatia gleeful, Bulgaria, Romania dismayed

The EU has agreed to Croatia joining the Schengen zone, but Bulgarian and Romanian bids are blocked.
PoliticsDecember 10, 2022