However, despite the perceived necessity of aligning with Europe at the time, there has been a gradual increase in displeasure towards the European Union and European integration, more commonly known as Euroscepticism. This development is part of a growing trend observed across the entire continent, but it seems to find the most fertile ground in the aforementioned Eastern bloc nations, which have historically been at odds with Western Europe. Bulgaria is a vivid example in this regard – while support for EU membership in the country remains the majority opinion at around 60%, it is a far cry from the nearly 74% seen in 2006, just one year before the country’s EU accession.
To gain a deeper understanding of this topic, it is worth giving more dimension to the term Euroscepticism, which is comprised of two schools of thought: soft Euroscepticism, which criticizes some EU institutions and policies and seeks reform, and hard Euroscepticism, which opposes EU membership entirely. In this case, Bulgarian Euroscepticism appears to be in favour of the former, as more and more people believe that they are not seeing the full potential of their country’s membership. But is the growing dissatisfaction of Bulgarians warranted, and is there a way to address it?
One of the main problems of eurosceptics is the slow economic growth and personal economic disparities. While it is true that Bulgaria is the poorest EU country, it is far from being the poorest in the world. In fact, since joining the EU, Bulgaria’s GDP has more than doubled – increasing from €33 billion in 2007 to €84 billion in 2023. Moreover, in the last 17 years, Bulgaria has received approximately €19 billion in EU funding that would go towards furthering the country’s development. But despite the economic growth, Bulgarians feel that it has not translated proportionately into income gains for many citizens. At the same time, it must be said that the main factor at play here is domestic politics, an area in which the EU has limited capacity to intervene. In this regard, the perceived economic disparities should be attributed more to political corruption and financial mismanagement rather than a general fault of Europe.
Certain policy initiatives advocated by the EU also play a key role in shaping negative public opinion of the bloc. While many of the EU’s policies have been necessary to ensure Bulgaria’s stable democratic development, others remain extremely controversial. One such set of policy initiatives is the Green Deal, which aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Eurosceptics are concerned that by implementing the Green Deal, Bulgaria is risking its energy security at a high financial cost. Some even argue that parts of the Green Deal go against basic economic principles and are pushed too aggressively. This example highlights the two big issues that characterize the way political dialogue is handled at the domestic and international levels. On the one hand, there are Bulgarian politicians who either cannot communicate these new policies to the public in an understandable manner or will not stand up to Brussels and demand certain changes. On the other hand, there is the unwillingness of certain EU leaders to adapt their policies to fit individual Member States.
A growing critique among eurosceptics is also Europe’s mishandling of immigration. Since the migrant crisis in 2015, immigration has become a hot topic in Bulgaria. Because of its geographical position as a border state of the EU, the country is used as a crucial route by migrants and refugees trying to reach Western Europe. As a result, Bulgaria has seen a surge in immigration and despite cooperating with the EU on this issue, it has struggled to properly control the flow of immigrants and secure its borders. With the recent news of major EU nations implementing stricter security regulations, many Bulgarians now criticize Western Europe for its delayed reaction in tackling this issue, and some even blame EU leaders for instigating immigrants and refugees to pursue shelter on the continent. Both with respect to immigration and the previously discussed Green Deal, Bulgarians feel that they have no say in EU decision-making, which further increases their perception of Western European elitism.
It is worth pointing out another key factor in the growing Eurosceptic trend – the increased disinformation campaign. As already mentioned, Euroscepticism seems to find fertile ground in Bulgaria because of its historical and even cultural ties to Russia. Euroscepticism provoked by disinformation often attempts to conjure up some nostalgic feeling towards the communist period in Bulgaria. In recent years, the country has been engulfed in an anti-EU disinformation campaign fueled mainly by pseudo-nationalists and pro-Russian actors. Given the ubiquity of social media in our everyday lives and the ease with which it provides a platform for its users, it has undoubtedly become the most effective weapon in the war over public perception. Such actors use the aforementioned critiques as main talking points, exaggerating and even falsifying information in an attempt to stoke up fear and, as a result, hatred towards the EU. This narrative benefits pro-Russian and anti-systemic parties in general, as their rhetoric seems to attract more and more support on all sides of the political spectrum.
Finally, while there is sound evidence to suggest that these parties serve foreign interests, the harsh reality is that even a broken clock is right twice a day. These political actors, though extremely dishonest and even aggressive in their messaging, use their platform to acknowledge highly sensitive topics that many of their pro-European counterparts tiptoe around, perhaps not wanting to tarnish their reputation as an EU ally. This stimulates many voters – some of which have no real political affiliation but merely acute interest in these issues – to support such projects despite their radical nature.
Overall, while Euroscepticism in Bulgaria is on the rise, this trend seems to favour broad criticism of EU institutions rather than support for union withdrawal. This is, in many cases, a democratic inevitability – as citizens begin to feel “more European” as a result of their EU membership, they feel more confident in voicing their opinions. While some of the public dissatisfaction can be over-exaggerated or the topic of conversation misunderstood, there are genuine problems in the Bulgarian-EU relationship that need to be addressed, and not providing room for discussion is a misstep. Indeed, this highlights perhaps the biggest problem in both Bulgarian and European politics – the absence of political dialogue and decisive action on contemporary issues plaguing the zeitgeist. The failure of systemic and pro-European parties to take a political stance and acknowledge some of the EU’s shortcomings holds the risk of further increasing negative sentiment among undecided and sceptical voters, who might turn to radical representatives in a drastic attempt to feel heard.
