Bulgaria needs a real housing policy

Social inequalities in Bulgaria are at the highest levels in the EU (source: Pixabay, CC0)

A snapshot of the state of the housing problem in Bulgaria – with statistics, data on European projects, social housing, social services for the homeless and civil society organizations supporting the homeless – was made by the association “Doctors of the World” with the report “Home for Everyone: Mission (Im)Possible?”

Vladimir Mitev

This article was published on 26 March 2022 at the Bulgarian section of the site ”The Barricade”.

Bulgaria is the only country in the EU that does not have a right to housing and right to town movement. However, this does not mean that the housing problem of Bulgarians is solved. At least 2.5 million Bulgarian citizens live in poor housing conditions and overcrowding. Among them are representatives of all ethnic groups in Bulgaria: 65% of all Roma, 45% of all Turks and 30% of all Bulgarians – living in dwellings with less than 15 square meters per occupant. These are part of the data in the report “Home for everyone: mission (im)possible?”, which was presented at a press conference in BTA on Friday, March 25.

The report is a publication of the Médecins du Monde association, funded by the Fondation Abbé Pierre. It is remarkable for its in-depth factual presentation of the main ‘housing policies’ (or rather the lack of them) over the last 30 years, its knowledge of the civil society organisations dealing with housing issues and the drama of underprivileged people who have dropped out of the public race after losing their housing. 

Bulgaria entered in 2022 with considerable social problems

A view from a contemporary Bulgarian city (source: Pixabay, CC0)

In an interview for the Danish organization Democracy in Europe Vladimir Mitev tells about the social price of Bulgarian contemporary capitalism

On 12 January 2022 The Bridge of Friendship’s founder Vladimir Mitev participated in an online event of the Danish organization Democracy in Europe, which deals with political education. He was asked to give in advance an interview about the social situation and problems in Bulgaria. The interview’s transcript and video is published below. 

Where’s the hope in Bulgaria?

The hosts of Cross-border Talks (source: The Cross-border Talks, YouTube)

Bulgarians are caught in a game of mutual domination between the interests of oligarchs and the agendas of Biden-ists and Trump-ists

The Cross-border Talks

This is the transcript of the first segment of the fourth episode of the Cross-border Talks podcast. The Cross-border Talks is a podcast on international relations, hosted by the Polish journalist Małgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat and her Bulgarian colleague Vladimir Mitev in cooperation with Strajk, The Barricade and Foundation Naprzod.

In this segment Małgorzata and Vladimir speak about current affairs in Bulgarian politics in the context of the forthcoming 14 November 2021 presidential and parliamentary elections. They discuss the protests of 2020, the issue of social change, the influence of internal and international lobbies in Bulgarian politics and what could be territory of hope in it.