ПРОГРАМИ
en de ru fr es sr gr al tr ro
Podcast in English
Share
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

International mission recommends stronger independence of Bulgaria's public broadcasters BNT and BNR

Bulgaria is among the EU countries with the most serious deficit of ​​media freedom
Photo: BTA

Bulgaria continues to be among the EU countries with the most serious deficits in the area of ​​media freedom. This is the conclusion of the Coalition of international organizations working in the field of press freedom, which conducted an exploratory mission in Bulgaria until September 26.

Bulgaria should immediately and transparently implement the European Media Freedom Act - this is the main recommendation made by an international mission on the state of the media environment in Bulgaria. The delegation is led by Pavol Szalai - head of Reporters Without Borders for the European Union and the Balkans. Szalai recalled that according to the latest Reporters Without Borders freedom of expression report, Bulgaria is ranked 70th, which is an improvement compared to the situation 4 years ago, when Bulgaria was in the unenviable 112th place - last in the European community, but even today the measures taken are still not enough:

"Today, Bulgaria's place in the press freedom index is 70th out of 180 countries. This is progress, but the measures taken in Bulgaria to protect journalism are only partial and insufficient. Bulgaria currently remains third from the bottom among the European Union countries. Journalists who cover topics of public interest such as protests, corruption, organized crime, drug and healthcare prices, elections, Schengen and border management continue to be threatened. At the same time, Russian propaganda in the country is probably the strongest since the fall of communism."

So far, the Reporters Without Borders team has spoken with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, the directors general of the public broadcasters Bulgarian National Radio and Bulgarian National Television, and a number of institutions, journalists, and experts.

The Vice President of the Association of European Journalists Irina Nedeva has stressed that there are worrying trends that do not only affect Bulgaria, but are global - the attitude of politicians towards critical journalists is becoming increasingly hostile. Since the beginning of August, the European Media Freedom Act has been implemented as a European regulation, Nedeva pointed out.
“Very often, we, journalists, are the object of refusal to be given interviews, to receive answers to critical questions by politicians, institutions, and of delays,” Nedeva said.

Flutura Kusari of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom has pointed out that the conclusion of the mission is that the legal environment in Bulgaria creates constant risks for journalists.

Among the recommendations of the mission are that the Bulgarian government implement reforms that strengthen the editorial and institutional independence of the public broadcasters Bulgarian National Television (BNT) and Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), while ensuring adequate, sustainable and predictable financial resources for state-owned media. 

According to the report, it is necessary to guarantee a fair and transparent election of directors general at the Bulgarian National Radio and Bulgarian National Television.


Read also:

Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.
Radio Bulgaria News    Association of European Journalists Bulgarian National Radio Bulgarian National Television independence of Bulgarian media Irina Nedeva journalists under pressure media freedom media freedom in Bulgaria Media Freedom Index Pavol Szalai press freedom press freedom in Bulgaria public broadcasters in Bulgaria Reporters without border

More from category

Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov

Vazrazhdane party organizes anti-government protest in central Sofia on September 26

The nationalist party Vazrazhdane has announced a protest demanding the resignation of the government on September 26. The protest will be held in front of the National Assembly building in central Sofia today at 12:00. A protest..

published on 9/26/25 3:55 PM

The United States and Bulgaria strengthen cooperation in combating crime

Representatives of the Diplomatic Security Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection visited Varna to meet with their Bulgarian counterparts to exchange..

published on 9/26/25 12:27 PM

Bulgaria’s National Assembly fails to secure the necessary quorum for the third consecutive day

For the third consecutive day, Bulgaria’s National Assembly failed to secure the necessary quorum of 121 MPs to hold a session. Only 111 out of a total of 240 MPs were present in the plenary hall. The same happened on the previous two days. On..

published on 9/26/25 10:47 AM

WEATHER
Pick city: Sofía
Overcast, rain
Min: 16 | Max: 22
Cloudy
Min: 16 | Max: 21
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 21
Scattered showers
Min: 14 | Max: 20
Rain
Min: 11 | Max: 18
Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 23
Cloudy
Min: 12 | Max: 22
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 9 | Max: 19
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 22
Rain
Min: 15 | Max: 20
Overcast, rain
Min: 13 | Max: 22
Rain
Min: 12 | Max: 19
Overcast, rain
Min: 16 | Max: 22
Rain
Min: 12 | Max: 18
Cloudy
Min: 13 | Max: 21
Cloudy
Min: 16 | Max: 23
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 11 | Max: 20
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 21
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 13 | Max: 20
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 15 | Max: 21
Cloudy
Min: 9 | Max: 18
Rain
Min: 14 | Max: 18
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 11 | Max: 23
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 11 | Max: 20
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 23
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 12 | Max: 21
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 21
BULGARIA IN PICTURES
Which world-famous Bulgarian artist designed QSL cards for Radio Bulgaria?
Yasen Gyuzelev
Theodore Ushev
Christo Javacheff - Christo
Ilia Peikov
Lika Yanko

BULGARIANS ABROAD

Български English Русский Deutsch Српски Français Ελληνικά Español Shqip Türkçe Română
MOST VIEWED

Ancient harbour from 1st millennium BC found off Cape Kilik

Underwater excavations near Cape Kilik in Bulgaria’s Avren municipality have revealed evidence of a harbour dating back to the early 1st millennium BC...

published on 9/24/25 6:01 PM

Autumn weather changes expected

On Thursday, the lowest temperatures will be between 9 and 14°C; in Sofia – about 12°C. During the day there will be rain showers in..

published on 9/24/25 7:15 PM

EU enlargement a natural priority for Sofia – Bulgarian FM says in New York

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev told a B4 meeting that EU enlargement is a natural priority for Sofia. Speaking on the sidelines of the..

published on 9/24/25 5:49 PM

english@bnr.bg

+359 2 9336 661

Общи условия за използване на сайта | Политика за поверителност | Политика за "бисквитки"