A N A LY S E DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS POLIT-BAROMETER Year 22 Issue 5 May 2022 In the Bulgarian political de­bate, for the first time in the 21st century, the need to choose between Europe and Russia is presented as being of paramount importance. Boris Popivanov The government is failing to formulate a useful way out of its own trap with North Macedonia. The gas crisis is becoming es­tablished as a systemic chal­lenge for Bulgaria, requiring political consensus and an ad­equate strategy.