Bulgaria has plummeted in the freedom of speech index

Bulgaria is ranked 70th in terms of freedom of speech, Reporters Without Borders' latest report shows. This leaves our country near the bottom in the European Union, where it is followed only by Cyprus and Greece.

Media freedom is unstable. Bulgaria's few independent media outlets are under pressure", the organisation wrote in its report.
Last year Bulgaria climbed 12 places to 59th in the annual media freedom rankings. Now, however, that progress has almost been erased completely.

The study covers 2024, when the regular coalition government "Denkov" was in power in Bulgaria, supported by GERB, PP-DB and DPS, as well as the two caretaker cabinets of the close to GERB Dimitar Glavchev.

The position of the Association of European Journalists - Bulgaria states that it is time the country joined the Council of Europe's Journalists Matter campaign.

It is time for the country to show that it respects and protects journalism as a pillar of democracy and not as a threat to power", the Association says.
This call is on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day - 3 May, declared by the UN General Assembly.

It is designed to remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.