Bulgaria — Bill on the Use and Development of Artificial Intelligence

Per the Bulgaria AI Note (Irena Koleva, April 2026), the Bill on the Use and Development of Artificial Intelligence was submitted to the National Assembly on 8 October 2025 by a group of Members of Parliament. It is intended to complement the EU AI Act, providing national measures for its effective enforcement (designating competent authorities, supervisory and sanctioning mechanisms, and matters left to Member State discretion) and setting broader national policy objectives. In several areas the Bill goes beyond the EU AI Act baseline: a blanket national ban on remote biometric identification, limits on AI in special intelligence means, explicit restrictions on AI-generated deepfake content and AI-assisted political advertising, specific rules on open models and lawful use of publicly available personal data for training, and AI-specific amendments to numerous sectoral laws (education, health, gambling, judiciary, energy, cybersecurity, public procurement). The transitional provisions introduce AI-related amendments into a broad set of laws — for example, requiring AI-based grading systems in education to provide explanations, banning AI for judicial decision-making or certain gambling recommender systems, and mandating disclosure when AI is used in legislative drafting or political campaigning. The Bill prompted criticism and formal opinions from several public authorities, including the Ministry of Justice. It was not approved by the leading parliamentary committee — likely to face rejection or substantial revision.