BULGARIA: Smear campaign against civil society organisations intensifies

Over sixty Bulgarian NGOs alert of a new wave of attacks against civil society organizations taking place in Bulgaria. Since early 2018, the Bulgarian democratic civil society has experienced an intensification of smear campaigns leading to weakened public trust and damage to their reputation. Between December 2019 and January 2020, many leading politicians picked up arguments misrepresenting service provide NGOs as well as organisations receiving funding from abroad. 

Read their letter calling EU institutions to strongly recognise the importance of civil society and reiterate the Bulgarian state duty to protect freedom of association, including by condemning vilifying attacks against civil society: