Elitsa Simeonova is a correspondent in RFE/RL's Central Newsroom in Prague. She previously was a correspondent in Sofia for RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service.
Bulgaria is set to become the newest member of the eurozone on January 1, 2026. While European Union officials have approved the move, public opinion in Sofia remains sharply divided.
Bulgaria’s lev currency is set to become history as the country prepares to join the eurozone on January 1, 2026 -- a milestone long delayed by legislative hurdles and political debate. While EU officials have approved the move, public opinon in Sofia remains sharply divided.
Bulgarian Education Minister Krasimir Valchev has accused the European Polytechnical University, located near Sofia, of functioning as a "funnel for migrants" rather than a legitimate educational institution.
A Bulgarian university has been accused of operating as a front for an immigration scheme and abandoning its academic activities. The institution denies the accusation by the country's education minister and says it is under "attack." RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service visited the university to investigate.
Why were 3 boys left in a forest to die? It's a question that Bulgarians are grappling with.
A plan to house 20 refugee children without parents in Sofia has been abandoned after far-right figures turned it into a campaign issue ahead of parliamentary elections this weekend.
Alexandra Mileva, a Bulgarian filmmaker, was arrested after setting a Russian flag on fire in downtown Sofia to protest Russian military aggression in Ukraine. Now free and acquitted of hooliganism charges, Mileva spoke to RFE/RL about how a recent trip to Ukraine provoked her dramatic protest.
If you asked a Bulgarian politician who was to blame for the country's ongoing political crisis, they would most likely all give you the same name: Delyan Peevski, a shadowy oligarch who, his critics allege, has captured the state.
Thousands of YouTube users in Russia reported on August 8 that the platform is no longer accessible for them – and it’s not the first time Russia is restricting YouTube. Why is this happening, and what alternatives would Russians have in the future?
Protesters have turned out in force in Sofia after the Bulgarian parliament passed an amendment to ban LGBT "propaganda" in schools. Protesters say that the new legal ban will harm not only young LGBT people but also heterosexuals.
In recent months, there’s been a wave of Russian sabotage incidents in Europe. What's going on, and what could Brussels do about it?
North Macedonia's new president, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, refused to say the word "North" in the country’s name when she was sworn in. She says she has the right to do so, but this has sparked an angry reaction from Greece.
An ex-minister is on trial for his wife's murder in Kazakhstan. The case has put domestic violence in the spotlight in the country, where UN figures suggest at least 400 women die every year from spousal violence. (WARNING: This video contains scenes of domestic violence.)
Friends in high places come with lucrative benefits in Uzbekistan. For a phantom company with connections to the president’s son-in-law, these included tens of millions of dollars in opaque state contracts, a new RFE/RL investigation has found.
Three years ago, an unknown Uzbek company registered in an apartment emerged from nowhere to land more than $100 million in state contracts before vanishing again. A new RFE/RL investigation reveals the firm’s ties to the Uzbek president’s son-in-law.
Russia is increasing its cooperation with China in 5G and satellite technology and this could facilitate Moscow's military aggression against Ukraine, a report by the London-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) security think tank warns.
Two French nationals have told RFE/RL they're both very much alive and living in France, despite Russian state media claims they were in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv at the time of a Russian missile strike on January 16.
After Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Europe has successfully reduced its dependence on Russian gas. That, experts say, is good for the EU's long-term energy security. Yet cutting Russia out of the energy equation completely will be much harder to achieve across a divided EU.
For years, he was mostly known as an oligarch and media mogul, who rarely appeared in public and is sanctioned by the U.S. for his "extensive role in corruption in Bulgaria." But now, Delyan Peevski is coming out of the shadows and is increasingly a more influential presence.
The death of a 25-year-old man in a psychiatric hospital highlights what a report by Bulgaria's ombudswoman called the "cruel, inhuman, and degrading" treatment of patients. The man died in a fire while he was locked in an isolation room, tied down for hours, and left without medical supervision.
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