Caretaker PM and Foreign Minister Spoke with Investigative Journalist Hristo Grozev about the Challenges of External Influences Ahead of April 19 Snap Elections

Caretaker Prime Minister, Andrey Gyurov, and Foreign Minister, Nadezhda Neynski, on March 25, held talks with investigative journalist Hristo Grozev on the challenges Bulgaria faces from foreign influence, active measures, manipulation, and hybrid activity.

Foreign Ministry Sets Up Mechanism to Counter Disinformation Ahead of Elections

Grozev was invited to assist the government-established mechanism within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs aimed at countering disinformation and combating hybrid threats in connection with the upcoming early parliamentary elections. The journalist shared his extensive experience in exposing hybrid threats and espionage activities, speaking about recent revelations about Russian spies operating in the European Union and new findings from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that arms dealer Emilian Gebrev had been poisoned with a Novichok-group nerve agent.

Caretaker Prime Minister Gyurov and Foreign Minister Neynski outlined plans to develop a mechanism for a timely, structured, and integrated institutional communication response to hybrid threats and attempts at foreign interference and information manipulation. Grozev agreed to support the initiative with specific information exposing malicious influences he has collected over the years.

Hybrid threats and the infiltration of foreign agents can be addressed at both national and European levels through mechanisms developed by the European Commission.