Published on: 09.02.2026 | Authors: Dr. Dimitar Keranov, MRSSAf & Luca Rovinalti
Brussels to Sofia: EU Policy in Bulgaria
In Sofia, “Europe” is not only a debate about values or geopolitics. In practice, EU policy shapes budgets, institutional incentives, enforcement credibility, and Bulgaria’s role on the EU’s external border—where internal EU rules and external security risks increasingly overlap.
When people in Sofia talk about “Europe,” they often mean more than values or geopolitics. In day-to-day reality, the EU shapes Bulgaria’s priorities, institutions, and even the political cost of reform. That influence comes mainly through EU funding, EU rules and standards, and monitoring and conditionality.
That creates a lasting tension:
- Best case: EU funding modernizes infrastructure, improves public services, and supports reforms that would otherwise be delayed.
- Worst case: it becomes a source of political advantage—where weak safeguards allow informal influence, procurement risks, poor project planning, and non-transparent subcontracting to undermine results.
Bulgaria’s biggest governance weakness has rarely been the absence of laws. The deeper problem is uneven enforcement and low trust in institutions—a challenge seen in different forms across parts of the EU and its neighborhood.
Bulgaria is also an EU external-border state in a high-pressure region—on the Black Sea, exposed to hybrid risks, and central to migration management and cross-border crime routes. This creates a strong overlap between EU internal policy (Schengen rules, border standards, police and judicial cooperation) and EU external policy (security, sanctions compliance, and resilience).
As a result, debates in Brussels on migration, border technology, internal security cooperation, or sanctions enforcement are not distant “policy files” for Bulgaria. They translate into practical demands. And the credibility of Bulgarian institutions in these areas shapes how much trust partners place in Bulgaria—and how willing the EU is to deepen cooperation.
Bulgaria’s resilience is also influenced by EU-level work on:
- protecting critical infrastructure,
- cybersecurity and public-sector digital security,
- countering disinformation and hostile influence.
EU frameworks affect Bulgaria’s regional role in concrete ways, too. One clear example is infrastructure and connectivity. EU corridors and cross-border programs encourage cooperation on roads, rail, ports, and logistics—creating shared interests even when politics becomes difficult.
What Brussels should watch in Bulgaria — and what Sofia should prioritize
For Brussels
- Implementation capacity: can ministries and municipalities deliver projects well?
- Integrity safeguards: do procurement and oversight systems reduce integrity risks and improve value for money?
- Resilience performance: are cyber, infrastructure protection, and disinformation policies working in practice?
For Sofia
- Build enforcement credibility: not just new laws, but real, consistent implementation that can be demonstrated in practice.
