The politics of Bulgaria take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the prime minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Sergey Dmitrievich Stanishev is a Bulgarian politician who served Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2005 to 2009. A member of the Socialist Party, which he led from 2001 to 2014, he later served as Member of the European Parliament from 2014 to 2024. Stanishev was also the President of the European Socialists from 2011 to 2022 and a Member of the National Assembly from 1997 to 2005 and from 2009 to 2014.
The history of Bulgaria from 1990 to the present is the period of Bulgarian history that begins after the fall of Communism and the transition to a market economy.
Bulgaria plans to adopt the euro and become the 21st member state of the eurozone. The Bulgarian lev has been on a currency board since 1997, with a fixed exchange rate initially against the Deutsche Mark and subsequently its replacement the euro. Bulgaria's target date for introduction of the euro was 1 January 2025. However, the 2024 ECB convergence report concluded that Bulgaria did not meet the convergence criteria due to high inflation, so this timeline has been delayed. The Bulgarian National Bank and several Bulgarian politicians have expressed their desire to join as soon as possible, and project that inflation will be low enough by the end of 2024. If Bulgaria adopts the euro, it will become the second national currency of the country after the lev, which was introduced over 140 years ago. The fixed exchange rate is 1.95583 lev for 1 euro.
The accession of North Macedonia to the European Union has been on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU since 2005, when it became an official candidate for accession. The then Republic of Macedonia submitted its membership application in 2004, thirteen years after its independence from Yugoslavia. It is one of nine current EU candidate countries, together with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.
Bulgarian–Romanian relations are foreign relations between Bulgaria and Romania. Bulgaria has an embassy in Bucharest. Romania has an embassy in Sofia and three honorary consulates. There are 7,336 Bulgarians who are living in Romania and around 4,575 Romanians living in Bulgaria. The countries share 608 km of common borders, mostly along the Danube. Both countries are full members of the European Union and NATO. The two countries joined NATO in 2004 and then the European Union in 2007.
Mariya Ivanova Gabriel is a Bulgarian and European politician, president of the Robert Schuman Institute. She served as Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2023 to 2024. A member of the GERB party, she previously served as European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth from 2019 to 2023, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society from 2017 to 2019 and Member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2017.
Boyko Metodiev Borisov is a Bulgarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria on three separate occasions, serving a total of 9 years between 2009 and 2021, making him the country's longest-serving post-communist Prime Minister. A member of the GERB party, which he founded and currently leads, he previously served as Mayor of Sofia from 2005 to 2009. Borisov remains politically active to date and is currently a Member of the National Assembly.
The Reformist Bloc was a centre-right electoral alliance in Bulgaria.
The ninety-fourth Cabinet of Bulgaria took office on November 7, 2014. It was a coalition government chaired by Boyko Borisov. The government was formed after Borisov's party, GERB, won the 2014 parliamentary election. As GERB won 84 out of the 240 seats in the National Assembly, they were compelled to form a coalition to legally govern.
Lilyana Pavlova Nikolova is a Bulgarian politician from the GERB party who served as Minister of Regional Development and Public Works in Boyko Borisov's first and second cabinet and as Minister of Bulgaria's Presidency of the Council of the European Union in Borisov's third cabinet.
Victor Negrescu is a Romanian politician of the Social Democratic Party. He is a Member of European Parliament and he was Minister Delegate for European Affairs in the government of Romania between 2017 and 2018. Since 2007, he is the president and national coordinator of the Romanian network of PES activists.
The ninth European Parliament was elected during the 2019 elections and sat until the tenth European Parliament was sworn in on 16 July 2024.
Events in the year 2010 in Bulgaria.
The European Youth Goals are a collection of 11 interlinked goals representing young people's vision for youth policy in the European Union (EU). The European Youth Goals were developed during the 6th cycle of the EU Youth Dialogue. The European Youth Goals were included in the EU Youth Strategy 2019–2027.
Events from 2021 in the European Union.
We Continue the Change, sometimes translated as Change Continues, is a centrist, anti-corruption political party and formerly an electoral alliance in Bulgaria led by Kiril Petkov and Asen Vasilev, two former caretaker ministers. It was founded ahead of the November 2021 election. The party was officially registered on 15 April.
Croatia held the presidency of the Council of the European Union during the first half of 2020. The presidency was the last of three presidencies making up a presidency trio, which began with the presidency of Romania, followed by that of Finland. It was the first time Croatia had held the presidency; the country acceded to the European Union in 2013.
Estonia held the presidency of the Council of the European Union during the second half of 2017. The presidency was the first of three presidencies making up a presidency trio, followed by the presidency of Bulgaria and that of Austria. It was the first time Estonia had held the presidency. The motto that was chosen for the presidency was "Unity through balance".
Malta held the presidency of the Council of the European Union during the first half of 2017. The presidency was the last of three presidencies making up a presidency trio, which began with the presidency of the Netherlands, followed by that of Slovakia. It was the first time Malta had held the presidency.
Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borisov at the opening ceremony of the Bulgarian presidency, at Sofia's National Palace of Culture, 11 January 2018 [9]
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov with President of the European Council Donald Tusk in Sofia, 11 January 2018
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev with President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker in Sofia, 12 January 2018
