2020 in Bulgaria

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Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	Other events of 2020 Timeline of Bulgarian history

Events in the year 2020 in Bulgaria.

Incumbents

• President: Rumen Radev
• Prime Minister: Boyko Borisov

Events

Ongoing – 2020 Bulgarian protests

January

• 8 January – Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, along with the heads of state of Turkey, Russia, and Serbia, formally inaugurate the TurkStream gas pipelines.[1]
• 13 – 19 January – The 2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships – Division III was held in Sofia.[2] Iceland won the tournament.[3]

February

• 4 February – President Rumen Radev withdraws his support for the ruling government coalition between the GERB party and the United Patriots, blaming it for the prevalent corruption in the country and lack of reform.[4]
• 5 February – The U.S. places sanctions on Bulgarian judge Andon Mitalov who the U.S. State Department claimed was involved in "significant" corruption and had "severely compromised the independence" of the country's democratic institutions.[5]
• 22 February – Following a far-right attack in Germany that killed at least nine people, the annual rally held by neo-Nazis in Sofia was banned, the first since it began in 2003.[6]

March

• 8 March – The first confirmed cases of COVID-19 are reported in the country: a 27-year-old man from Pleven and a 75-year-old woman from Gabrovo.[7]
• 11 March – A 66 year-old women from Lom who tested positive for COVID-19 died, becoming the first victim of the virus in the country.[8]
• 13 March – After the number of confirmed cases in the country more than tripled to 23 over one day, a state of emergency was declared until April 13. Schools, shopping centres, cinemas, restaurants, and other places of business were closed with only essential businesses remaining open. All sports events, including Bulgarian Football Union matches, were suspended. Travel was restricted to 14 countries and police were given special powers for quarantine enforcement.[9][10][11]

April

• 3 April – The National Assembly approved the government's proposal to extend the state of emergency by one month until 13 May.[12]
• 30 April – Bulgaria applies for ERM II, a mandatory step to joining the Eurozone, due to join along with Croatia in July.[13]

May

• 4 May – Director of ECDC Dr. Andrea Ammon listed Bulgaria as the only country monitored by the centre still seeing an increase in newly registered cases.[14]
• 9 May – Targovishte, the last Bulgarian province without any registered COVID-19 cases, confirmed its first COVID-19 case.[15]
• 11 May – The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, publishes the result of radiocarbon and DNA analysis from fossils that were found in the Bacho Kiro cave, Gabrovo Province. The result, showing that the fossils belong to Homo sapiens instead of Neanderthals, indicates that modern humans may have arrived in Europe thousands of years earlier than previously thought.[16]
• 25 May – The Bulgarian captain of the cargo ship Tommi Ritscher, who was kidnapped at the port of Cotonou, Benin, in the Gulf of Guinea by pirates, is freed.[17]

June

• 21 June – Grigor Dimitrov, the most successful Bulgarian ATP tennis player to date, announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19.[18]
• 9 July – Protests begin throughout the country with the goal of removing Borisov's cabinet and Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev from office.[19][20]

July

• 10 July
  • The ECB accepts Bulgaria and Croatia into ERM II, paving the way for their adoption of the euro. This is also the Eurozone's first major expansion in half a decade.[21]
  • Thousands of protesters blocked the center of Sofia on Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd., between Orlov Most and Sofia University. Later in the day, head of the National Security Service General Krassimir Stanchev resigned after being asked to do so by President Rumen Radev.[22][23][24][25]
• 14 July
  • The National Representation of Student Councils in Bulgaria accused pro-government police forces of illegally beating protesting students and demanded the resignations of police officers found responsible.[26]
  • Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev released a series of wiretaps allegedly collected by the State Agency for National Security in which Aleksandar Paunov, Communist Party of Bulgaria leader and opposition MP, held a conversation with a Bulgarian exile. This led the Union of Democratic Forces to call on the prosecution to ban the communist party entirely, stating that it had supported the protests and "contributed to the destabilization of the country".[27][28]
• 15 July – The opposition socialist party introduced a motion of no confidence against Borisov's government in parliament, accusing it of collaborating with the Bulgarian mafia. Concurrently, in response to the continued protests and reports of the use of violence by the police, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov asks his ministers for finance, the economy, and the interior to resign. However, the majority of protesters rejected these concessions and vowed to continue to protest until the entire government resigns.[29][30][31]
• 21 July – The government survives a motion of no confidence by 124 votes against, 102 votes in favour, amidst the still ongoing large-scale anti-government protests.[32]

August

• 7 August – Bulgarian security forces clamped down on demonstrators and dismantled anti-government barricades across the country in a major police sweep. The police operation comes a day after the Bulgarian government declared that it had no plans to step down from power.[33]

Deaths

Blagovest Sendov

Christo Javacheff

Kina Kadreva

• 1 January – Silva Zurleva, journalist (b. 1958).[34]
• 10 January – Petko Petkov, footballer (b. 1946).[35]
• 19 January – Blagovest Sendov, diplomat, mathematician and politician (b. 1932).[36]
• 31 May – Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, artist (b. 1935).[37]
• 5 June – Boris Gaganelov, footballer and manager (b. 1941).[38]
• 27 July – Kina Kadreva, children's book writer (b. 1931).[39]

References

1. "Turkey, Russia launch TurkStream pipeline carrying gas to Europe". Reuters. 2020-01-08. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
2. "IIHF Ice hockey U20 World Championship Div III – Competition schedule" (PDF). reports.iihf.hockey. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
3. "IIHF – Iceland triumphs in U20 Division III". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
4. "Bulgarian President Withdraws Support for Government". Balkan Insight. 2020-02-04. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
5. "US Blacklists Bulgarian Judge Over Alleged Involvement In 'Significant' Corruption | Voice of America – English". www.voanews.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
6. "In the wake of Hanau, an annual neo-Nazi rally is banned in Sofia". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
7. "Проф. Тодор Кантарджиев: От Плевен имаме две положителни проби за коронавирус, от Габрово също". Информационна Агенция "Фокус" (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2020-08-06.
8. Дневник, Екип на (2020-03-11). "Коронавирусът в България: първа жертва и нов случай на заразен". Dnevnik (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2020-08-06.
9. "МВнР: България не е въвела ограничения на държавните си граници". Bgonair (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2020-08-06.
10. "Bulgaria closes schools, restricts travel over coronavirus". Reuters. 2020-03-13. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
11. Foundation, Thomson Reuters. "Bulgaria declares state of emergency over coronavirus". news.trust.org. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
12. "ГЕРБ удължи извънредното положение с подкрепата на ДПС". СЕГА (in Bulgarian). 2020-04-03. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
13. "Bulgaria economy briefing: BULGARIA CHANGES LEGISLATION TO JOIN ERM2 EXCHANGE RATE MECHANISM – China-CEE Institute". Retrieved 2020-05-22.
14. "UK among European states not yet on COVID-19 downward slope: EU says". Reuters. 2020-05-04. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
15. "Нови 46 случая на Covid-19 у нас, общо стават 1911". bnr.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2020-08-06.
16. Welle (dw.com), Deutsche. "Bulgarian fossils suggest Homo sapiens arrived in Europe earlier than previously thought | DW | 12.05.2020". DW.COM. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
17. "Kidnapped captain of Portugal-flagged ship freed-Bulgaria". Reuters. 2020-05-25. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
18. tennis, Liz ClarkecloseLiz ClarkeSports reporter focusing on; OlympicsEmailEmailBioBioFollowFollow. "Grigor Dimitrov tests positive for coronavirus after playing on Novak Djokovic's Adria Tour". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
19. "Протест пред президентството". bTV. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
20. https://www.euronews.com/2020/07/14/bulgaria-s-anti-government-protests-keep-pressure-on-pm-boyko-borissov
21. "Bulgaria, Croatia take vital step to joining euro". Reuters. 2020-07-10. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
22. "Втори ден на протести в центъра на София*". Investor.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2020-08-07.
23. "Началникът на НСО ген. Красимир Станчев подаде оставка". bTV Новините. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
24. "Президентът поиска оставката на шефа на НСО – България". dariknews.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2020-08-07.
25. "Напрежението ескалира: Полицията отцепи МС в полунощ заради антиправителствения протест". Mediapool.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2020-08-07.
26. "Students demanding police who beat them fired". bnr.bg. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
27. "Гешев: Радев подкрепи бегълците от правосъдието". bTV Новините. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
28. news.bg (2020-07-17). "От МСДС искат разпускане на Комунистическата партия с лидер Александър Паунов". News.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2020-08-07.
29. News, A. B. C. "Bulgarian government faces no-confidence vote amid protests". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
30. Gotev, Georgi (2020-07-16). "Faced with anti-mafia protests, Bulgaria's Borissov sacks three ministers". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
31. "Борисов поиска три министерски оставки, но протестът остава – България". dariknews.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2020-08-07.
32. "Bulgarian government survives no-confidence vote, protests continue". Reuters. 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
33. "Bulgarian Police Clamp Down on Anti-Govt Protests". Balkan Insight. 2020-08-07. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
34. "Силва Зурлева е открита мъртва в дома си в село Ковачевица". tribune.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 1 January 2020.
35. "Beroe and Bulgaria legend Petko Petkov died". MBS News. 10 January 2020. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020.
36. "Отиде си акад. Благовест Сендов". dariknews.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 21 January 2020.
37. È morto Christo, l’artista aveva 84 anni (in Italian)
38. admin. "CSKA legend Boris Gaganelov died suddenly! | MbS News". Retrieved 2020-08-07.
39. Отиде си детската писателка Кина Къдрева (in Bulgarian)