Eurosceptic Radev poised for majority in Bulgarian election – Europe live

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'Europe has fallen victim to its own ambition to be moral leader,' Bulgarian election winner Radev says

The latest results, after more than 91% of votes were counted, confirm that Radev will have an absolute majority in the new parliament as he appears to be on course for some 130 seats in the 240-seat parliament.

Former Bulgarian president Rumen Radev speaks to journalists after the polls closed in Sunday's election, in Sofia, Bulgaria. Photograph: Valentina Petrova/AP

AFP notes that the landslide victory marks the first outright parliamentary majority for a single formation in Bulgaria since 1997 when a centre-right, pro-European grouping won.

But in a sign of tensions to come, Radev said that “a strong Bulgaria and a strong Europe need critical thinking and pragmatism.”

“Europe has fallen victim to its own ambition to be a moral leader in a world with new rules,” he told reporters.

Guess we will have to wait and see what that means in practice.

Morning opening: Eighth time is the charm

Jakub Krupa

Bulgarian ex-president Rumen Radev – an EU critic who has called for renewing ties with Russia – on Sunday hailed a “victory of hope” after his formation topped the eighth parliamentary elections in five years.

Rumen Radev, former Bulgarian president and leader of Progressive Bulgaria coalition, speaks to the media after the first exit polls at the parliamentary election in Sofia, Bulgaria. Photograph: Spasiyana Sergieva/Reuters

Projections from polling agencies put his Progressive Bulgaria (PB) grouping at 44%, which would give him an absolute majority of at least 129 seats in the 240-seat parliament.

This morning’s partial results – after over 80% votes counted – suggest the polls were broadly correct, raising hopes for a stable government in Bulgaria.

But there was little of the international enthusiasm that we saw a week ago in Hungary, with no European leaders taking to social media to congratulate the winner just yet.

Radev, Bulgaria’s president between 2017 and 2026, is a Eurosceptic, who regularly opposed further military support for Ukraine amid continuing Russian aggression, prompting some concerns that he could replace Hungary’s Viktor Orbán as tricky partner in the European Council.

But his focus is likely to be on domestic reforms and fight against corruption, as his foreign policy remains to be properly defined. On Sunday he declared that Bulgaria “would make efforts to continue on its European path” after joining the eurozone earlier this year.

I will bring you more on this during the day.

Separately, France’s Emmanuel Macron is expected in Poland where he will meet with the prime minister, Donald Tusk, and the Nobel prize winning former leader of the Solidarity movement, Lech Wałęsa.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s Lula is in Germany, meeting with the chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for talks on trade, among other things.

Hungary’s Orbán also suggested Ukraine could restore oil deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline as early as today.

The issue has been at the centre of tricky Hungarian-Ukrainian relations in recent months, and if confirmed, he suggested that he would be ready to drop the Hungarian block on the EU’s €90bn loan for Ukraine – even before Péter Magyar gets in in early May.

I will keep an eye on all of that and bring you the latest here.

It’s Monday, 20 April 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.