VESELIN TOSHKOV

A man passes by graffiti sign reading 'No to Euro' in Sofia, Bulgaria, Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgaria is close to joining the euro currency but faces disinformation and fear
Bulgaria is close to realizing its decades-old goal of joining the euro currency union. That would deepen ties with the more prosperous countries of Western Europe. But the idea faces a populist backlash.
 
Boyko Borissov, GERB's party leader, speaks during press conference after the exit polls show he is the likely winner of Bulgaria, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Borissov appears winner of Bulgaria’s parliamentary election
The center-right GERB party of ex-premier Boyko Borissov appears to be the winner of Bulgaria’s parliamentary election, the country’s central electoral commission said.
 
A man walks outside a polling station backdropped by Bulgarian flag in Bankya, Bulgaria, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgaria’s center-right GERB party wins snap vote, exit poll shows
The center-right GERB party of former prime minister Boyko Borissov is the likely winner of Bulgaria’s parliamentary election, after exit poll results showed it placing first.
 
FILE - An early voter casts his vote in the polling station on the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria, June 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova, File)
Vote-weary Bulgarians face a seventh general election in just over 3 years
Bulgarians will cast ballots on Sunday in the seventh general elections in just over three years as their country faces growing political instability that might further enhance the popularity of pro-Russian and far-right groups.
 
Bulgarians cast ballots for a new parliament and in European Union elections
Bulgarians are choosing a new parliament Sunday while also participating in European Union elections that have been overshadowed by domestic political instability and economic inequality.
 
Flight attendants arriving at the Henri Coanda International Airport pass under a Schengen Information sign, in Otopeni, near Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, March 31, 2024. Romania and Bulgaria joined Europe's passport- and visa-free Schengen Area, applying only to travelers arriving by air and sea. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
Romania and Bulgaria partially join Europe’s Schengen travel zone, but checks at land borders remain
Romania and Bulgaria partially joined Europe’s Schengen ID-check-free travel zone, marking a new step in the two countries’ integration with the European Union.
 
FILE - The president of Bulgaria's Football Union Borislav Mihaylov speaks during press conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Oct. 18, 2019. Bulgaria’s chief prosecutor on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, launched an investigation into the country’s Football Union’s management which aims to scrutinize the actions of its president, Borislav Mihaylov. The move follows the mass protests that gripped Bulgaria’s capital on Thursday night as several thousand soccer fans took to the streets to demand the resignation of Mihaylov. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Prosecutors investigate Bulgarian soccer federation president in the wake of violent protests
Bulgaria’s chief prosecutor has launched an investigation into the country’s soccer management. The focus is on the actions of federation president Borislav Mihaylov.
 
FILE - A man walks near the business tower Lakhta Centre, the headquarters of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom in St. Petersburg, Russia, on March 16, 2023. The European Commission said Friday Oct. 20, 2023 it is discussing with Bulgaria its introduction of a fee on Russian gas transits, a measure that has angered EU co-member Hungary as well as Serbia — both recipients of Russian gas. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)
EU discusses Bulgaria’s gas transit tax that has angered Hungary and Serbia
The European Commission says it’s discussing with Bulgaria its introduction of a fee on Russian gas transits, a measure that has angered EU co-member Hungary as well as Serbia — both recipients of Russian gas.
 
Exit polls point to first place for Bulgarian leader’s party
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s center-right GERB party appears the likely winner of parliamentary election, with several exit polls pointing to it finishing first.
 
Bulgaria to investigate 3rd suspect in UK ex-spy poisoning
A ruling party official says Bulgaria plans to investigate reports that a third suspect in the nerve-agent poisoning of a Russian ex-spy in England allegedly was involved in a 2015 poisoning of a Bulgarian businessman.
 
Figures of Trump and Putin meet in Bulgarian mall
You wouldn’t expect to encounter Donald Trump in a Bulgarian shopping mall, especially not standing next to Vladimir Putin.
 
7 killed, 29 injured in Bulgarian tanker train explosion
A derailed tanker train has exploded in northeastern Bulgaria, killing seven people and leaving least 29 injured, many with severe burns, the Interior Ministry said.
 
Bulgarian prosecutors indict 2 men for 2012 bus bombing
Bulgarian prosecutors have filed an indictment charging two Lebanese nationals with terrorism for their alleged involvement in a 2012 bombing in Bulgaria that killed five Israeli tourists and a bus driver, and left 35 Israelis injured.
 
Bulgaria distributes images of terror suspects
The first alleged terrorist is identified as Meliad Farah, also known as Hussein Hussein, an Australian citizen born Nov. 5, 1980. The second is Hassan El Hajj Hassan, a Canadian citizen born March 22, 1988, according to a statement of the interior ministry.
 
Bulgarian center-right wins most of the votes
“For the first time in the last 23 years we have a ruling party that has been reelected on top, but strangely enough what has been formed around this party is a ‘cordon sanitaire.’ Despite winning the election this political party is not in a position to shape the future of the country,” political a