Bulgaria's government has withdrawn a state budget plan after facing the largest demonstrations the country has seen since the 1990s. Protesters gathered in the capital, Sofia, and other cities on December 1 to accuse the government of prioritizing its own salaries over the needs of workers.
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Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Sofia and other Bulgarian cities to join protests late on December 1 against the ruling coalition's budget plans, forcing the government to withdraw them the next morning.
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Tens of thousands of people rallied in Sofia demanding the withdrawal of Bulgaria’s 2026 draft budget, which critics say boosts state salaries while burdening the private sector. The December 1 protest escalated late in the evening, leading to clashes with police, injuries, and multiple detentions.
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Some of the largest protests in modern Bulgaria's history broke out throughout the country on December 1 against a 2026 budget that would see taxes hiked and social-security contributions raised by a government many Bulgarians view as corrupt.
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Authorities in Romania have arrested a former senator for allegedly attempting to offer a 1 million-euro ($1.16 million) bribe to the country’s defense minister to facilitate an arms deal that could be fraudulently financed by a European Union program.
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