SOFIA – The pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party vandalised the EU office in Sofia during its protest against Bulgaria’s possible accession to the eurozone, drawing sharp reactions from Ursula von der Leyen and all parliamentary parties.
The pro-Russian party agitators threw red paint and tried to set fire to the door of the EU office during the violent protest, which resulted in ten police officers being injured and six demonstrators, including an MP, being arrested.
“Outrageous scenes in Sofia where our EU office has been vandalized. In Europe, we exercise the right to demonstrate in a peaceful way. Violence and vandalism are never the answer,” von der Leyen said on X.
“We believe that the Bulgarian authorities will succeed in bringing to justice those responsible for this unacceptable vandalism,” the European Commission said in a statement.
The protest began in front of the Bulgarian National Bank building and continued as a procession through the centre of Sofia, but then the Vazrazhdane demonstration turned into a spontaneous illegal protest that attacked the building of the EU institutions.
During the demonstration, mannequins with the faces of Valdis Dombrovskis, Christine Lagarde and Pascal Donahue, on whom the country’s entry into the eurozone depends, were symbolically set on fire.
The pro-Russian party, which is the fourth largest force in the Bulgarian parliament and has recently been spreading pro-Russian disinformation, called for the resignation of the government, claiming that Bulgaria’s entry into the eurozone was illegal.
The leader of Vazrazhdane, Kostadin Kostadinov, said that if the government did not meet their demand to organise a referendum on keeping the Bulgarian lev, access to parliament could be blocked.
“Bulgaria will become poorer, but after the euro, biometric cards with the number 666 (the devil’s number) will be introduced. After that, chips will gradually be placed on people’s hands and heads,” a protester from Vazrazhdane told the media during the violent protest in front of the EU offices in Sofia.
This is the second act of vandalism by Vazrazhdane against the office of the European institutions in Sofia. A year ago, supporters of the party also sprayed the building with red paint, and the marks of the attack remained untouched for more than a month.
Just a week ago, Vazrazhdane tried to storm the Bulgarian National Bank building, and before that, staff at the National Statistical Institute complained of threats they had received.
The Bulgarian government condemned the violence and said the state would not tolerate it. “The state will not tolerate attempts at destabilization and will take all necessary measures to guarantee public order,” the government said.
Interior Minister Daniel Mitov also said that there would be consequences for the aggression against police officers.
“The heinous acts have been documented by police officers and the violators of the law will be held accountable for their actions,” the interior minister said.
Bulgaria’s largest party, GERB, which has a leading role in the government, described the attack on the EU offices as “absolutely unacceptable”.
“Misled by political tricksters who exploit their common frustrations, these confused and angry people are turning against the only thing that is comforting at the moment – the fact that we are part of Europe,” said the opposition pro-EU Continuing the Change party, which is part of the second-largest group in the Bulgarian parliament.
(Krassen Nikolov | Euractiv.bg)