The civil initiative “Parents for Dignified Motherhood“ has sent official requests to the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria, the parliamentaryly represented groups in the National Assembly and to the President of the Republic of Bulgaria with a request to take action in connection with the budgets of the State Social Insurance (SSI) and the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) adopted at first reading. The reason is the rejected requests for improving the conditions for raising children in Bulgaria against the backdrop of inflation in the country and the ongoing demographic crisis.
Here is what the civil initiative says:
We appeal to the parliamentaryly represented parties to adopt legislative amendments in support of families with children in Bulgaria upon the final adoption of the bills. If our voice is not heard, we insist that the parliamentary groups refer the Head of State, Mrs. Iliyana Yotova, and request the exercise of her power to veto the adopted budgets, as we believe that the policies set forth therein do not meet the real needs of Bulgarian families, parents and children. It is unacceptable for us, at a time when Bulgaria is facing a serious demographic crisis, that support for families remains insufficient, and that measures for motherhood, children's policies and social protection are postponed without a clear vision for the future, are categorical parents from the initiative. We recall that we organized a series of protests throughout the country, which will be renewed very soon.
The group created on the social network Facebook “Parents for Dignified Motherhood” already has over 7,000 members, and a large number of them are expected to join the protest actions in different cities. The dates and times of the new protests will be announced very soon.
We insist on a real long-term policy in support of parents and children, including a decent allowance for raising a child in the second year, annual indexation of social payments and equal treatment for all families.
The main demands of the initiative are the following:
increase in the allowance in the second year of maternity;
increase in the percentage of maternity allowance upon returning to work;
annual indexation of maternity and child benefits;
equal child benefits for all working parents;
higher compensation for children without a place in a state nursery or kindergarten;
long-term state policy to encourage birth rates and support young people families, which includes changes in tax breaks and obligations to the state,
a bonus system for maternity and child benefits and other proposals.
expanding the scope of free medications for babies and young children in order to reduce the financial burden on families.
Due to the expected bad weather conditions in the last days of the budget procedure, the civic initiative is organizing a kind of online protest, a type of discussion, through which parents from all over the country will be able to express their disagreement and state their demands. The event will be held on 21.07.2026, at 18:30, via Facebook Live.
Invitations to participate in the discussion are extended to the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria and all parliamentaryly represented groups in the National Assembly, as well as the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Labor and Social Policy.
Our appeal is not political. This is a civic insistence on responsibility for the future of Bulgaria — for children, families and future generations.
Why now? Because for years, expenses have been growing, and support for families has lagged behind. The backlog is already too great to ignore. The measures promised last year in favor of parents, although very insufficient, were a breath of fresh air. The lack of any measures in favor of families this year, against the backdrop of huge inflation, is causing most parents to literally languish financially in caring for the future of Bulgaria and for their own survival.