In Bulgaria, anti-corruption becomes repression

The European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) was never meant to bankroll repression. It was conceived to rebuild economies and entrench democratic reforms. Yet in Bulgaria, the story of Varna’s mayor, Blagomir Kotsev, reveals how a reform milestone – the creation of an independent anti-corruption commission – has not only failed but been turned into an instrument of political control.

A mayor behind bars

Blagomir Kotsev, the elected mayor of Varna, representing an opposition force, is today a political prisoner held under high-security confinement without a guilty verdict. Restricted to one-hour outdoors per day, subjected to severe limitations on contact with his community, and deprived of due process, Kotsev has become the symbol of how the anti-corruption commission, a required milestone of the RRF, is being weaponized. His defense has documented withheld case files, delayed disclosures, and procedural abuses that strip away the presumption of innocence.

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Kotsev is not alone. At least three other opposition officials remain imprisoned without verdicts. The very body intended to secure independence and transparency in governance is instead silencing opposition voices. For Varna, a strategic Black Sea hub, this is not only a local tragedy – it is a geopolitical vulnerability.

Why Varna matters

Varna is more than Bulgaria’s maritime capital. It is NATO’s logistical hinge in the Black Sea and a city where Russian influence has historically sought to penetrate. If an opposition mayor can be jailed under the guise of ‘anti-corruption,’ the precedent is dangerous: Moscow gains when democratic governance in Varna falters. The erosion of political freedoms in such a strategically vital city undermines not only Bulgarian democracy, but also Europe’s collective security.

From reform to regression

Bulgaria’s Recovery and Resilience Plan explicitly required the establishment of a politically and financially independent anti-corruption body, appointed through transparent processes and peer-reviewed by GRECO. Instead, what exists is a commission marked by politicization and instrumentalization. Parliamentary filings and defense submissions point to obstruction of European Public Prosecutor’s Office cases, concealed evidence, and delayed searches. Kotsev’s detention is not an exception – it is the clearest proof of systemic capture.

Europe’s dilemma

The RRF is a performance-based instrument: reforms first, funds second. The Commission now faces a choice. Will it disburse the second tranche of 653 million euros of European’s taxpayer’s money while Bulgaria’s milestone reform produces political prisoners, or will it insist that European money should not subsidise the opposite of what it was meant to achieve? The credibility of the RRF, and the EU’s stance on rule of law, hangs in the balance.

A necessary pause

The story of Blagomir Kotsev is not only about one mayor’s unjust imprisonment – it is about whether European taxpayers will fund institutions that entrench democracy or those that dismantle it. Varna’s fate has outsized significance, both as a frontline city in the Black Sea security and as a test of the EU’s resolve. To move forward responsibly, Brussels must reflect on whether releasing the next RRF payment under current conditions would reward reform or repression.

The conclusion is not born of ideology but of logic: until Bulgaria shows that its anti-corruption framework is truly independent, that due process is respected, and that political detainees like Kotsev are free to serve their constituents, the Commission should give a signal. A pause is not punishment; it is perhaps the only way to preserve the integrity of both the RRF and Europe’s democratic promise.

Caption: The mayor of Varna Blagomir Kotsev escorted by police [Velko Angelov, Dnevnik, partner of EUalive]

• Bulgaria
• corruption
• judicial abuse
• political prisoners

Updated: September 23, 2025 - 09:56