Right-wing activists heckled European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and briefly blocked her car during a visit to a weapons factory in Bulgaria on Sunday.
Members of the Revival and Greatness parties waved the national flag and shouted “Nazi criminal” as they rallied outside the Vazov Machine Engineering Plant (VMZ) in Sopot, the country’s largest state-owned arms producer.
“The time of the failed Brussels elite, along with its local servants, is running out,” Revival leader Kostadin Kostadinov declared, adding that the protest showed “Bulgaria is not for sale.”
“Ursula von der Leyen, who is under investigation for corruption and conflict of interest at the European level, is deeply disliked in Bulgaria. We do not want her in our country!” he wrote later on Facebook.
🇧🇬 In Sopot werd Ursula von der Leyen ontvangen met kreten van “Nazi!”. Haar bezoek aan een wapenfabriek werd geblokkeerd door aanhangers van partij Revival, ondanks dat de autoriteiten de tijd geheim probeerden te houden. pic.twitter.com/apHOF5dd2T
— Symphony (@Symphony_res) September 1, 2025
Germany’s defense company Rheinmetall plans to build a gunpowder plant and a 155mm artillery factory on VMZ grounds. “This is exactly the kind of project we want to see … Up to 1,000 new jobs will come here to Sopot,” von der Leyen told reporters after touring the site with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov. She also noted that “one third of the weapons used in Ukraine was coming from Bulgaria.”
Zhelyazkov said Bulgaria would continue contributing to mine-clearing operations in the Black Sea and provide “airport infrastructure” for EU security needs.
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