Freedom House

"In 2022, freedom of expression in Bulgaria was subjected to new abuses in the conditions of a full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine.

A woman shows her child a picture of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, Turkey, 18 January 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

Bulgaria is the least free country in the European Union after Hungary. This is according to Freedom House's annual ranking in the organization's report on the state of freedoms and rights around the world. The survey covers 210 countries and territories.

Bulgaria is classified as a "free" country in the latest Freedom House report on democracy and freedoms around the world.

Bulgaria has 79 points out of 100, one point more than last year (78). According to the rating for political rights, Bulgaria has 33 points out of 40 possible, and according to the rating for civil liberties - 40 out of 60 possible.

Freedom House is not the only watchdog to draw attention to democratic backsliding in Serbia since the Progressive Party of President Aleksandar Vucic took power in 2012.

But the official downgrade and the accusation that the Progressives have "systematically curtailed" the ability of the opposition to play a part in the business of governing struck a nerve.

The countries of Central and Southeast Europe are continuing to witness declines in democracy, media and election freedom, and respect for human rights, according to the latest Freedom House Nations in Transit report, published on Wednesday.

The New York-based Freedom House watchdog organisation says in its latest annual report, published on Wednesday, that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed European democracies of all political types under "severe strain".

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has dismissed claims made in a report by the international watchdog organisation Freedom House that Serbia is no longer a true democracy.

Brnabic insisted that Serbia was the most democratic state in the Western Balkans, adding that other international and domestic organisations had not ranked Serbia in a "non-democratic" category.

Freedom House's latest 'Nations in Transit' report, published on Wednesday, strongly criticises Serbia, Montenegro and Hungary for falling democratic standards and classifies all three countries for the first time as 'hybrid regimes'.

Freedom House, an American organization dedicated to supporting and defending democracy around the world, publishes its annual report on the state of democracy and civil liberties in countries around the world for 2019.