The Bulgarian Parliament's Committee on Culture and Media voted down a bill on Sept. 19 proposed by its chairperson belonging to the Vuzrazhdane (Revival) Party to create a registry of "foreign agents."
Founded in 2014 and described by some as pro-Russian, Revival came in third in Bulgaria's snap parliamentary election in June, securing 41 seats in the 240-seat parliament. Revival has supported maintaining Bulgaria's "deep ties" with Russia.
Despite Revival's claims that its proposed foreign agent law is similar to U.S. law, in both Bulgaria and Russia, individuals working as "foreign agents" would be barred from working in educational institutions and certain ministries and "must mark…any material (they) create with a large inscription on the title page — foreign agent. Just like in Russia," public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television (BNT) said.
A similar foreign agents law was signed into law in Georgia by the ruling Georgian Dream party in June and has been criticized for enabling authorities to monitor NGOs and media outlets that receive more than 20% of their income from abroad.
Washington and Brussels have denounced the bill as incompatible with Western values, and the European Council froze Georgia's EU accession process in response to its passage.
Revival had recently had success in passing anti-LGTBQ legislation, mirroring the passage of anti-LGBTQ legislation by Georgian Dream and similar moves in Russia.
Initially a hesitant partner, Bulgaria has become increasingly supportive of Kyiv as the war has progressed.
Bulgaria has provided Ukraine with a variety of aid since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, but pro-Russian sentiment has remained strong in the country.
Peter Leonard
