Balgarianovinite.com Equal access for people with disabilities was demanded by organizations at a discussion hosted by the Continue the Change (CC) party on Monday. The topic of the discussion was “Young Families and Incomes,” and was part of a series of debates under the motto “Strong Bulgaria in a Strong Europe.”
Venelin Stoychev of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences commented that in Bulgaria, when someone tries to develop public policies that are sustainable, they sometimes say that people do not understand because they lack the culture for it. He asked where this value-based resistance comes from. “Values are connected to the structures of consciousness; we need to move in several directions, and political participation is important,” Stoychev said.
“From social benefits to a decent wage is something we can identify with,” commented Venko Sabrutev from CC. He added that for years, infrastructure in Bulgaria has not been designed with people with disabilities in mind, and that the state does not acknowledge this problem. According to him, the money that ends up in the pockets of the “healthcare mafia” deprives us of quality healthcare and our children of proper care.
Kristian Grigorov of the Centre for Independent Living pointed out that in recent years there has been a sense that whoever is in power has an interest in keeping people with disabilities passive rather than active citizens, as they should be in order to earn a decent wage. According to him, a recent survey shows that 95% of assistants for people with disabilities are their relatives, while only 5% are hired through the labour market and can easily leave because the money they receive is insufficient.
Vasil Dolapchiev, Chair of the Union of the Blind, highlighted that the legislation regulating the rights of people with disabilities is scattered across 45 legal acts, both laws and sub-laws. He noted that in the last ten years alone, social spending by the state has been around BGN 20 billion, compared with BGN 5 billion previously. “Let’s stop talking about the fact that there are an awful lot of people with disabilities in Bulgaria,” Dolapchiev addressed the future government.
Georgi Kolev of the Union of Disabled Persons, quoting outgoing Social Policy Minister Borislav Gutsanov, said that 12.4% of the population in Bulgaria identify as people with disabilities. He added that in 2025 more than 500,000 people received disability pensions, costing over BGN 4 billion. “Over the years we have had excellent laws for people with disabilities, but the control over implementation and the spending of funds is very low,” he stressed. Despite favourable legislation, thousands of people still live in very low standards, receiving low pensions and incomes, said the Chair of the Union of Disabled Persons. According to the organization, policies should focus on the opportunities and potential of people with disabilities. “Provide us with an accessible environment,” Kolev urged the politicians. Organizations Call for Equal Access for People with Disabilities 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-02-09 18:06:13 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
