EditSofia erupts: largest protest in years blocks parliament over “worst budget in a generation”
As in 2013-14, the irritant is Delyan Peevski, Magnitsky-sanctioned oligarch who increasingly dictates key policies in Bulgaria
Tens of thousands of Bulgarians flooded central Sofia on Wednesday evening in the biggest street protest since the 2013–14 anti-oligarch uprising, paralysing the “Triangle of Power” around the National Assembly, Presidency and Council of Ministers.
Today, major protests erupted in Sofia against the adoption of Bulgaria's 2026 state budget (criticized also by the EU).
The opposition coalition "We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria" (PP-DB) organized a major demonstration that blocked traffic in the so-called… pic.twitter.com/S9yvsucB5K
— Ruslan Trad (@ruslantrad) November 26, 2025
Organised by the pro-European opposition coalition We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB), the demonstration united families, students, business owners and trade unions in fury at the draft 2026 state budget – widely condemned as fiscally reckless, anti-middle-class and a vehicle for oligarchic capture.
By early evening the square was a sea of Bulgarian flags, children’s balloons shaped like pigs (a mocking reference to corruption), and handmade placards: “Stop stealing our future”, “Our future vs your corruption”, “Punished for living in the light”. Three generations stood shoulder-to-shoulder: teenagers attending their first protest, parents who marched in 2013 against Delyan Peevski’s appointment as security chief, and now their own children – many of whom were toddlers on the same yellow paving stones a decade ago – chanting “Mafia out!” and “Victory!”.
Peevski, a Magnitsky- sanctioned oligarch and media baron officially co-chairing the DPS-New Beginning party, has emerged as the dominant behind-the-scenes power broker in Bulgaria’s fragile ruling coalition, effectively overshadowing Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and dictating key policies including the controversial 2026 budget.
The trigger was the 2026 budget, rushed through the parliamentary Budget Committee on the same day. Critics label it the most irresponsible fiscal plan in 25 years. Key objections:
- Expenses breach Bulgaria’s own Public Finance Act by hitting 40.8 % of GDP (legal ceiling 40 %).
- A projected 3 % structural deficit triples the 1 % permitted under national law.
Brussels has singled out Bulgaria (alongside only two other EU members) as at high risk of missing 2025–2026 net expenditure targets, jeopardising EU funds.
Dividend taxes rise, social-security burdens shift onto private-sector workers, and a previously cancelled mandate forces every business to install state-approved accounting software from 1 January 2026 – widely seen as a new tool for political control.
A discretionary 5-billion-lev (≈ €2.5 bn) slush fund is allegedly ring-fenced for unchecked spending in unreformed sectors.
Opposition leaders branded it “war on the middle class” and an “economic tsunami”. Former finance minister Asen Vasilev told the crowd: “Tonight they raised your pension contributions and doubled the maximum insurable income. If this passes, every Bulgarian will hand over another 600 leva to feed their piggy banks.”
The deeper grievance, however, is the return of sanctioned oligarch Delyan Peevski as the de-facto power behind the uneasy GERB–DPS–BSP–ITN coalition. Protesters see the budget as the latest proof that Bulgaria’s institutions have been re-captured by the same networks the 2020–2021 protests had temporarily driven underground.
As the Budget Committee wrapped up around 18:30, demonstrators formed human chains to block every exit from parliament. Police cordons thickened; a white riot-van – an iconic symbol of the 2013 siege when MPs were smuggled out in buses – reappeared. Clashes flared sporadically: firecrackers and bottles were thrown, pepper spray deployed, and police reported three officers injured. By midnight, protesters were still dragging rubbish containers across rear exits. Deputies from the ruling parties, including DPS heavyweights Yordan Tsonev and Stanislav Anastasov, only slipped out at 00:45 under heavy guard.
Speakers from the stage – a makeshift platform erected that morning to livestream the committee hearing – included PP-DB co-leaders Vasilev and Ivaïlo Mirchev, business representatives, and civil activists. Vasilev accused the government of planting provocateurs “to bloody the protest”, while Mirchev taunted hidden MPs: “They claim they work for the people but are terrified to face them. Let’s see who’s a real man tonight.”
At 21:00 the square fell silent to sing the national anthem, led by Vasilev and Mirchev – a moment that briefly united the vast crowd before many began drifting home. Hardcore groups stayed until the early hours determined that no deputy would leave until the budget was withdrawn.
The protest drew far beyond PP-DB’s core electorate. Employer organisations, normally wary of street action, publicly backed the demonstration. Far-right Vazrazhdane and the populist Velichie party stayed away, underscoring that anger at Peevski’s comeback now crosses traditional ideological lines.
A negative signal
The European Commission has also flagged concerns over Bulgaria’s fiscal plans. The country is “at risk of non-compliance” with the EU’s new fiscal framework for 2026, the Commission said in its latest assessment, published on Tuesday 25 November as part of the Autumn Package of economic recommendations for EU governments following a meeting of commissioners in Strasbourg.
Only months after receiving the green light for eurozone entry thanks to stable public finances, Bulgaria is now sending a negative signal to the EU that it is moving in the opposite direction.
The Commission warns that Bulgaria’s planned expenditure path for 2026 risks exceeding the maximum permitted rate agreed under the National Medium-Term Fiscal Plan approved in June.
Government spending continues to grow faster than revenue, despite efforts to improve tax collection. A key driver of this risk, the Commission notes, is the unreformed and automatically increasing expenditure within the public sector.
Although Bulgaria’s draft budget for 2026 maintains a deficit below the 3% of GDP reference value, Brussels considers the pace of expenditure growth unsustainable.
Wednesday’s scenes – families with toddlers facing riot police to defend fiscal responsibility – are a stark reminder that Bulgaria’s chronic governance crisis is far from resolved.
As one teenage protester put it, holding a sign that read “Corruption. Fraud. Vice”: “My parents brought me here in 2013 in a stroller. Tonight I came on my own. Nothing has changed – except now I understand why we have to keep coming back.”
With Sega and Dnevnik, EUalive partner media in Bulgaria, edited by g.g.
Caption: Photo by Anton Chalakov, Dnevnik
Updated: November 27, 2025 - 04:55
