AI regulation in Bulgaria (2026)

Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 is directly applicable in Bulgaria without transposition: prohibitions applied from 2 February 2025, GPAI and governance obligations from 2 August 2025, and full high-risk system rules from 2 August 2026.

Council of Ministers Decision No. 398 of 18 June 2025 designated seven bodies (including the National Ombudsman, Commission for Personal Data Protection, Commission for Protection against Discrimination, and Commission for Consumer Protection) as fundamental-rights protection authorities under the AI Act. No national market surveillance authority or single point of contact has been formally designated.

Bulgaria's Ministry of Electronic Governance publicly acknowledged that supervision of high-risk AI systems and a national sanctions regime have not been established. The interdepartmental working group tasked with developing the national regulatory framework was still being formed in late 2025, with the framework deadline set for March 2026.

The Concept for the Development of AI in Bulgaria until 2030, adopted by the Council of Ministers in 2020, sets six strategic pillars covering infrastructure, education, research, data, sectoral innovation, and ethical AI. A draft updated National AI Strategy for 2025 and a Draft AI-in-Education Strategy are under development to align with the EU AI Act.

The Ministry of Electronic Governance (MoEG) is the designated lead executive body for AI policy coordination and integration of AI into e-government, and is responsible for driving the national AI Act implementation process and the interdepartmental working group.

The Commission for Personal Data Protection (CPDP) — Bulgaria's GDPR supervisory authority — is one of the designated fundamental-rights bodies under the AI Act, anchoring AI data-protection oversight within the existing GDPR enforcement structure. GPAI model obligations under the AI Act apply from 2 August 2025 to all operators including those in Bulgaria.