Bulgaria continues to fall in the Reporters without Borders 2018 World Press Freedom Index, dropping down to 111^th place. This means the country is ranked below all EU members, what is more it has dropped behind all countries of the Western Balkans which are still applicants for membership of the European Union.

“Corruption and collusion between media, politicians, and oligarchs is widespread. The government’s allocation of EU funding to certain media outlets is conducted with a complete lack of transparency, in effect bribing them to go easy on the government in their reporting or refrain from covering certain problematic stories altogether,” the report reads.