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1 1 (April 16, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveczy0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Updated April16, 2021 Bulgaria: An Overview Bulgaria is a southeastern European country located along the Black Sea. After decades of single-party communist rule and a turbulent transition period during the 1990s, Bulg aria joined NATO in 2004 and the European Union (EU) in 2007. The United States cooperates with Bulgaria on arange of security is sues. At the same time, U.S. officials have urged Bulgaria to strengthen the rule of law. Domestic Background Bulgaria is aparliamentary democracy. Theprime minister leads the government, and a directly elected president serves as head ofstate. The National As sembly (Narodno sab ranie) is a unicameral legislature with 240 members. After 12 years of near-continuous rule under Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and his center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), Bulgaria experienced a period of uncertainty following parliamentary elections held on April 4, 2021. GERB and its main rival, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, placed first (26%) and third (15%), respectively, but hadtheir weakestresults in years. Propelled by dis satisfaction with the status quo, three new political groupings won around one-third of the vote. The populist There is Such a People (ITN), led by singer and TV entertainer Stanislav Trifonov, placed second (18%). Democratic Bulgaria and Stand Up, Mafia Out, which were involved in a wave of anti-corruption protests in 2020, won nearly 10% and 5% of the vote, respectively. The Movement for Rights and Freedoms, a party predominantly supported by ethnic Turkish voters thathas often had a kingmaker role in Bulgarian politics, won 11% of the vote. The fragmented results may make it difficult for any party to form a government. Although GERB will have the first opportunity to do so, most otherparties have indicated they will not supportit. The mandate to forma government would then pass to ITN. Otherpossible scenarios include a caretaker government and early elections. The next government faces an array of policy challenges, including mitigating thehealth andeconomic impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, addressing public pres sure to tackle corruption and organized crime, and managing Bulgaria's external relations amid escalating tensions in the Black Sea region. Corruption and Rule-of-Law Concerns Corruption, organized crime, and rule-of-law challenges intensified during Bulgaria's turbulent economic and political transition in the 1990s. Due to concern that these issues hadnotbeenfully addressed at the time ofBulgaria's EU acces sion in 2007, Brussels continues to monitor the country's reformprogress through a transitional Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. Although EU assessments note some progress in Bulgaria's anti-corruption and rule-of-law efforts, core challenges persist. For severalyears, Bulgaria has ranked last among EU member states in Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index The U.S. State Department's 2020 Investment Climate Statement for Bulgaria describes corruption as endemic, particularly onlarge infrastructure projects and in the energy sector and in public procurementanduseofEU funds. The influenceof oligarchs and criminalgroups over some decisionmaking processes and s tate ins titutions also is a concern. The outgoing government was weakened by multiple alleged corruption scandals involving GERB officials. These allegations prompted a wave of anti-corruption protests in mid-2020. Source: Map and graphic created by CRS. Rule-of-law challenges and a weak media environment complicate efforts to combat corruption and organized crime. The judiciary is one of Bulgaria's least-trusted institutions. Among other recommendations, external assessments have called for measures to strengthen judicial independence and increase the accountability of the prosecutor general, one of the country's most powerful positions. Media watchdog groups caution that Bulgaria's media environment is deteriorating. Bulg aria had the worst score among EUmember states in Reporters Without Borders' 2020 World Press FreedomIndex, which described a media environment marred by corruption and collusion between media, politicians, and olig archs. Economy The World Bankclassifies Bulgaria as an upper-middle income country. Bulgaria experienced robustGDP growth during the 2000s, following economic reforms and deeper EU integration. Although the economy struggled in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial cris is, recent annual GDP growth has been around 3% to 4%. As elsewhere, COVID-19 has adversely impacted the Bulgarian economy. GDP contractedby an estimated 4% in 2020. ttps://crs reports.congres

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