Bulgaria

What the government has said

“In principle in support of the measure proposed by the Belgian presidency, but with a working balance that guarantees the effective exercise of law-enforcement powers.”Ministry of the Interior, answer to an access-to-information request, 9 July 2024, translated from Bulgarian

Receipt: Council working party minutes, 12 Nov 2025, via netzpolitik.org

Explicitly supported the mandatory text (Sept 2025). With Spain and Hungary asked in November 2025 for a duty to detect at least in public spaces. Since the change of government on 8 May 2026 the delegation has entered a scrutiny reservation on the detection compromise (10 June 2026) and nothing more; the label rests on the earlier documents until Sofia speaks.

How it voted in the Council

Negotiating mandate, 26 November 2025

yes The Council position adopted in Coreper: voluntary scanning only, no detection orders. Coreper does not publish votes; the split was reported the same day by the Czech news agency CTK.

Chat Control 1.0, 23 July 2026

yes The vote that brought back the temporary rules: voluntary scanning of private messages allowed until 3 April 2028.

A government can oppose mandatory scanning and still vote for the voluntary regime. The two are listed separately for that reason. Council votes need 15 states with 65 % of the population; four states with more than 35 % block.

How its MEPs voted

On 9 July 2026 the European Parliament voted on a motion to reject the Council text that brought back voluntary scanning, Chat Control 1.0. Rejection needed 361 votes and got 314, so the text passed. Of the 17 MEPs elected in Bulgaria, 8 voted to reject it, 5 voted against rejection, 0 abstained and 4 did not vote.

• 8 for rejection, that is against voluntary scanning
• 5 against rejection, letting the text pass
• 0 abstained
• 4 did not vote

The government line above concerns mandatory scanning; this vote concerned the voluntary regime. They are different questions, which is why both are shown. Source: roll-call vote 195775 as published by the European Parliament and compiled by HowTheyVote.eu; all 27 delegations side by side on the governments page.

Who decides in Bulgaria

Minister

Ivan Demerdzhiev, Minister of Interior in the Radev government since 8 May 2026. The Council positions on record were taken under previous governments. Justice Minister Nikolay Naydenov

Ministry in charge

Ministry of Interior; Ministry of Justice

Permanent representation

Ambassador Rumen Alexandrov, Permanent Representative (Coreper II); Petya Vassileva, Deputy Permanent Representative (Coreper I)

Source: www.gov.bg/en/Cabinet/CABINET-MEMBERS

Timeline

1. 23 July 2026Council vote on Chat Control 1.0, the temporary rules. Bulgaria: yes.
2. 9 July 2026European Parliament votes on rejecting Chat Control 1.0; the motion fails, the text passes. MEPs elected in Bulgaria: 8 for rejection, 5 against, 0 abstained, 4 did not vote. source
3. 10 June 2026At the JHA counsellors’ meeting the delegation of the new government enters a scrutiny reservation on the presidency’s detection compromise (9659/26), not described as positive; no statement of position since the change of government (German minutes via netzpolitik.org, 12 Jun 2026). source
4. 8 May 2026The Radev government takes office after the election of 19 Apr 2026; Ivan Demerdzhiev becomes Minister of Interior. source
5. 26 November 2025Council negotiating mandate adopted in Coreper. Bulgaria: yes.
6. Since 12 Nov 2025Recorded as supports. Receipt: Council working party minutes, 12 Nov 2025, via netzpolitik.org source

Sources

• Council working party minutes, 12 Nov 2025, via netzpolitik.org (receipt)
• Ministry of the Interior answer no. 812104-267, 9 Jul 2024, via Electronic Frontier Bulgaria (PDF)
• Council minutes, 12 Sep 2025, via netzpolitik.org
• Permanent Representation of Bulgaria to the EU, key officers
• Method: what the labels mean and where the population shares come from