page_title: Euroscepticism
section_title: Bulgaria
hierarchical_section_title: Euroscepticism / In EU member states / Bulgaria
caption_attribution_description: Български: Привърженици на партия "Атака" свалят на земята знамето на Европейския съюз от пилоните до Националния дворец на културата в центъра на столицата София на 3 март 2016 г. English: Followers of the Bulgarian political party "Ataka" tear down the flag of the European Union in the center of the capital of Bulgaria - Sofia, next to the National Palace of Culture, at the National holiday of Bulgaria - 3 March 2016, the 138 year from the liberation of the country from the Turkish yoke.
context_page_description: Euroscepticism, also known as EU-scepticism, means criticism of the European Union and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek reform, to those who oppose EU membership outright and see the EU as unreformable. The opposite of Euroscepticism is known as pro-Europeanism, or European Unionism.
  The main sources of Euroscepticism have been beliefs that integration undermines national sovereignty and the nation state, that the EU is elitist and lacks democratic legitimacy and transparency, that it is too bureaucratic and wasteful, that it encourages high levels of migration, or perceptions that it is a neoliberal organisation serving the business elite at the expense of the working class, responsible for austerity and driving privatization.
  Euroscepticism is found in groups across the political spectrum, both left-wing and right-wing and is often found in populist parties. Although they criticise the EU for many of the same reasons, Eurosceptic left-wing populists focus more on economic issues while Eurosceptic right-wing populists focus more on nationalism and immigration.
context_section_description: Parties with mainly Eurosceptic views are Union of Communists in Bulgaria, NFSB, Attack, and VMRO – BND, which is a member of the Eurosceptic European Conservatives and Reformists).
  Bulgaria's Minister of Finance, Simeon Djankov, stated in 2011 that ERM II membership to enter the Euro zone would be postponed until after the Eurozone crisis had stabilised.
  In the 2014 European Parliament election Bulgaria remained overwhelmingly pro-EU, with the Eurosceptic Attack party receiving 2.96% of the vote, down 9%, with the splinter group National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria taking 3.05%; neither party secured any MEPs. A coalition between VMRO – BND and Bulgaria Without Cencorship secured an MEP position for Angel Dzhambazki from IMRO, who is a soft Eurosceptic.
  Followers of Eurosceptic Attack tore down and trampled the European flag on 3 March 2016 at a meeting of the party in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, dedicated to the commemoration of the 138th anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire.
  In the 2019 European Parliament election, Bulgaria remained overwhelmingly pro-EU with the ruling centre-right Gerb party winning with 30.6%, against 26% for the socialist BSP
caption: European flag in Bulgaria torn down by supporters of the Eurosceptic party Attack
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