A Law on the Protection of Personal Information (Official Gazette No.°1/2002) regulates the protection of physical persons in the processing of personal data and the access to these data. The objective of the law is to guarantee the inviolability of persons and personal life, as well as to protect physical persons from illegal processing of personal data and to regulate access to such data. Under the provisions of this law, "personal data" is defined as "information about the physical person, which reveals his physical, mental, psychological, marital, economic, cultural or civil identity". The General Data Protection Regulation came into force... read more →
New Search
If you are not happy with the results below please do another searchThe Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act (1993) protects a maximum range of copyright and neighbouring rights. In 1995, the Parliament ratified the Rome Convention and the Geneva Convention. On 25 July 2002, the 39th National Assembly passed an Act to amend the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act, which brings Bulgarian legislation in line with its commitments regarding international agreements with the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the World Trade Organisation Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Articles in Bulgaria's Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act supplement and adjust the legal framework to include provisions on the fair... read more →
To encourage private persons and companies to sponsor the development of the arts and culture, a tax deduction is provided to resident and non-resident natural persons and legal entities. This amounts up to 10% for donations for cultural purposes, as well as for conservation and restoration of historical and cultural monuments, or for grants. The rate of tax deduction was increased from 5% to 10% under amendments to the Corporate Income Tax Act (2007) adopted at the beginning of 2002. Artists pay taxes under the Personal Income Tax Act (2007), which allows them to deduct 50% of their expenses from... read more →
Social security for artists is regulated by the Labour Code and the Ordinance on Social Security of Persons who Practice a Liberal Profession and of the Bulgarian Citizens Working Abroad (2000). Under these laws, artists practising a liberal profession are treated equally with those who have registered companies as sole traders or partners in commercial corporations under the Commercial Code. In both cases, the compulsory social security (last update as of 2019) contributions are: • For people born before 1960 and operating as self-insured persons or companies, they pay a retirement insurance for all insurance risks of 23.3% of income... read more →
In the Republic of Bulgaria, the municipality is the main administrative territorial unit, of local self-government. The Municipal Council is the main authority. Representatives are elected from their respective constituencies for a period of four years. At the end of 2002, the first regulatory steps were taken to normalise the financial decentralisation of public services, to be carried out by the municipalities including cultural activities. The main aim was to increase local income and a maximum level of local autonomy as well as to define the character and content of municipal services. Upon Decree of the Council of Ministers (No.°16/2003),... read more →
Texts from the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria (1991), which directly refer to the cultural field, are the following: Article 3 Bulgarian shall be the official language of the Republic. Article 13 (1) The practicing of any religion shall be free. (2) The religious institutions shall be separate from the state. Article 18 (1) The state shall enjoy exclusive ownership rights over the nether of the earth; the coastal beaches; the national thoroughfares, as well as over waters, forests and parks of national importance, and the natural and archaeological reserves established by law. Article 23 The state shall establish... read more →
The Red House Centre for Culture and Debate – together with various partners – organises debates and discussions on different cultural policy issues on a regular basis (regarding for example the national strategy for culture, culture in Bulgarian foreign policy, public financing of culture and Bulgarian culture in the EU). In 2019, within the context of the Festival of Ideas and just a month before the European Parliament elections, a debate was organised on the subject of freedom of expression and its potential regulation. The purpose of the initiative was to provoke in-depth and free discussion on topics that are... read more →
Bulgaria is following the process of digisation that is taking place across Europe and around the world. In this sense, the cultural sector is also undergoing a digital revolution. The way of creating, distributing, promoting and consuming cultural content is changing. To a large extent, digisation affects the media, the gaming sector, the publishing industry and the music industry. For a decade, the digitalisation of cultural archives in Bulgaria was carried out without a single strategy, working "piece by piece". However, in 2018, changes were made to the Cultural Heritage Act, according to which the Minister of Culture or a... read more →
Gender equality and culture is mainly on the agenda of NGOs. For example, the Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation is an independent NGO promoting social justice, gender equality and human rights through research, education, legislative changes and advocacy. Some NGOs deal specifically with the equal integration of women from the minority cultural communities – especially Roma women – into the mainstream life of Bulgarian society. The Bulgarian Women's Fund is an organisation that supports local non-governmental organisations working for women's rights to achieve equality in all spheres of public life and to eliminate all forms of discrimination, including in the cultural... read more →