Activity Report January – December 2023 – Summary
BOLD Foundation pursued its purpose during 2023 and achieved results in promoting democracy and human rights in Bulgaria. The following activities were implemented:
1 Campaigns and Positions
In the report period, BOLD conducted five online meetings of regular members at which it made decisions on campaigns, events, and positions on key issues of Bulgarian democracy. Highlights:
24 January 2023: In partnership with the Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism” (Kyiv), BOLD held a panel discussion entitled “Russia’s Visible and Invisible Enclaves in Bulgaria: The Economic Footprint”, aimed at clarifying past and present dependencies on Russia in various sectors of the Bulgarian economy and how these have been changing because of Russia’s war in Ukraine. This was the second event in the “Bulgarian Roads in the Shadow of War” series, in which we analyse the impact of the war on Bulgaria. This time, we presented the results of a research project entitled “The Russian Octopus in the Black Sea Region: Identifying Vulnerable Areas – Strengthening Resilience” and implemented by the Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism”, with consultancy assistance from BOLD experts for the Bulgarian chapter. Panelists discussed the economic, financial and energy consequences of the war, and how they all affect liberal democratic institutions and values. The following questions were in focus: After decades of Russian presence in Bulgaria, how can we choose economic and energy policies that are best for Bulgaria, and how does the ‘best’ look like? Is it possible to improve the normative environment that supports Bulgarian institutions in rejecting corrupt practices and dependencies? Are there political, normative, or institutional mechanisms for state monitoring and control of Russian representative offices and companies in the country that pose a threat to national security and independence? Should the state take control of strategic sites on our territory linked in various ways to the Putin regime? Is there a toolkit for tracking and illuminating financial flows from Russian sources to Bulgaria, including to strategic sectors of the economy, the media, political and social organizations?
6 March 2023: BOLD held a panel discussion on “Defence and Security of Bulgaria: Impact of the War in Ukraine”, aimed at shedding light on the state of the armed forces, security services and civilian control over them, and how they are changing because of Russia’s war in Ukraine. This event was part of the series “Bulgarian Roads in the Shadow of War,” in which we analyse the impact of the war on Bulgaria. Around the time of Bulgaria’s entry into NATO in 2004, a number of initiatives began to reform the military and security sector, and as the principles of a democratic society require, introducing effective democratic control over the armed forces and the security services began to be considered. Bulgaria had to adequately integrate into NATO, participate in multinational forces, renew armament in all types of armed forces, modernise personnel, reform military education, review the role and scope of the military prosecutor’s office and military courts, and ensure the integrity of the special services. Twenty years later, we have no reason to be proud of positive changes. Arms renewal did not happen. There are signs that the Kremlin’s doctrine and practice of hybrid warfare in Bulgaria has been largely successful. Civil society is effectively excluded from participation in civilian control in these areas. In the discussion, we posed the following questions: what are the problems and needs for Bulgaria to have an effective defence capability and guaranteed national security? What reforms are needed? Are we a credible partner in NATO? What is and what should be our strategy for providing military assistance to Ukraine? How to build a system to counter Kremlin’s hybrid influence in key ministries and specialized structures related to defence and national security, including in terms of regulations, human resources, and institutional capacity? How to counter the disproportionate institutional use of terms such as “classified information,” “top secret”, etc., enabling complete opacity and the introduction of tacit policies contrary to Bulgaria’ democracy alliances?
23 March 2023: BOLD publicized its Appeal on Voting in the Parliamentary Election of 2 April 2023. The document analyzed the deficits in parliamentary democracy in Bulgaria related to falling participation in elections, falling trust in political parties, the long series of caretaker governments appointed by the President in the absence of parliamentary accountability, the total eclipse, in the public sphere, of issues around human rights and equality, the participation in the electoral competition of extreme rightwing parties with anti-democracy agendas, the weak citizen participation on government and policy making, etc. BOLD appeal to Bulgarian citizens to go to the polling stations and give their vote to parties that have formulated clear democratic values and clear pro-European policies.
6 June 2023: BOLD published an electronic bulletin entitled “The Other Russia”, which contained translations into Bulgarian of materials from or about people living inside Russia who oppose Putin’s regime and condemn the invasion of Russia in Ukraine. The bulletin was sent by email to over 2000 subscribers.
14 September 2023: BOLD publicized a position on the Governance Program of Bulgaria adopted by the regular government of Nikolai Denkov for the following 18-month period. Critically assessing the 150- page long document, BOLD pointed at positive features in the reforms planned by the government, as well as at some of the major weaknesses from the point of view of democracy and human rights. BOLD formulated specific recommendation for improving the Program.
14 December 2023: BOLD published a second electronic bulletin entitled “The Other Russia”, which contained translations into Bulgarian of materials from or about people living inside Russia who oppose Putin’s regime and condemn the invasion of Russia in Ukraine. The bulletin was sent by email to over 2000 subscribers.
20 December 2023: In partnership with the Access to Information Program, BOLD organized a full day conference entitled “Disinformation: Challenges and Solutions in Search of Truth.” The event is part of the series “Bulgarian Roads in the Shadow of the War.” Disinformation, influenced by hybrid warfare, IT developments and social media, is a leading topic worldwide. Its importance has grown since the outbreak of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in recognition of its role in shaping public opinion. In Bulgaria, disinformation has become a suspiciously easy explanation for complex processes, such as the persistence of sympathy towards Russia. But what is disinformation? Should it be curbed or prosecuted? If so, in what cases? Are there solid legislative and policy principles already in place to regulate it? How should this be done in an online environment? The conference sought to answer these questions in the Bulgarian context. As a result, BOLD partnered with the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and the Access to Information Program to draft a Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in the Online Environment which has been finalized and was launched in May 2024.
2 Project “Strategic Litigation for Vaccination Justice”
This project started in October 2021 and ends in November 2024. It is financed by Open Society Foundations. In this project, with Dimitrina Petrova as project leader, BOLD is a partner to BHC.
This project developed strategic litigation to establish that in the first half of 2021, the Bulgarian state has failed to protect from death from Covid-19 over 10,000 persons, primarily older people, and people with certain medical conditions, who should have been prioritized for vaccination on account of their higher probability of dying from the disease compared to the general population.
During 2023, the work continued and included strategic litigation, supported by legal and epidemiological research. Llitigation under this project has the general purpose to establish that the Bulgarian authorities have violated the rights to life, health, and non-discrimination of over 10,000 persons who have died from Covid-19 in the period between February and July 2021. Several legal cases have been filed complaining against the national vaccination policy that had failed to protect from death the most vulnerable categories of persons – the elderly and those with certain underlying health conditions. In the fall of 2023, the project was thematically broadened to tackle the topic of the just distribution of scarce health resources. A study on this theme is under way.
3 Project “Building the Capacity of BOLD in the Face of New Challenges”
This project started on 1 August 2022 and ended in December 2023. It is supported financially by the Active Citizen Bulgaria Fund.
The purpose of the project was to build the capacity of BOLD for a more effective response to new challenges created by the war in Ukraine. This project empowered BOLD to reset its priorities on issues resulting from the war in Ukraine as the war is a threat to democracy in Bulgaria and Europe. Through the project, BOLD attempted to mobilize citizen support for consistent Euro-Atlantic positioning of Bulgaria in the context of the war in Ukraine; identification and resistance to disinformation; and solidarity with people inside Russia who oppose the Putin regime. The project contributed to countering current challenges including: the risks of constructing the Bulgarian “national interest” in a way that undermines the country’s Euro-Atlantic orientation; the increased disinformation; the increased Russophobia. The project’s outputs include: policy positions and events during 2022-2023; regular multimedia messages including video, blogs, and articles, issued by a specially trained group of fact checkers; a conference on disinformation; publication of materials authored by Russian citizens opposing the war. Following up on extensive training on fact checking for 12 participants, with a focus on identifying disinformation in the context of the war in Ukraine, a Facebook group with 34 participants was formed to work on countering disinformation. BOLD produced and published 12 short videos and 20 articles exposing specific pieces of “fake news” related to the war.
4 Communications
We have maintained the organizational website, https://boldbg.net, placing materials related to positions, events, etc.
A variety of content was disseminated via an e-bulletin sent to over 2000 subscribers.
BOLD regularly published materials on its Facebook page.
Regular communication with the BOLD members has been maintained and 5 general members meetings were held online.
Media outreach: we have published several articles in Bulgaria and abroad, and there have been several interviews with BOLD leaders during the report period.
