The week began early-on Sunday, November 1 – not only with celebrations of the People and Culture Day, but with the quiet launch of two intertwined initiatives. This is Bulgaria emerges as a rebranding movement to capture, document, and showcase everything Bulgaria truly is. While some places are born to tell stories, Bulgaria was created to make them. Visoko Darvo follows as the platform designed to monetize the policy, societal, and technological intelligence this country has to offer.

So, with that poetically charged beginning, the week unfolded with momentum. Below are the consequential developments from the days behind us-grouped into Policy, Society, and Technology-each one verifiable, each one part of the same architecture, leading into the Week Ahead and what all this demands of Bulgaria.

POLICY

1.EU Advances Crisis-Response Protocol for Platforms under the European Democracy Shield The European Commission has completed draft provisions under the European Democracy Shield establishing a joint “Hybrid Threat Crisis Protocol.” Participation by digital platforms and critical information-service operators will be encouraged—potentially mandatory once adopted—requiring real-time incident reporting and coordinated disinformation-response drills across Member States.

Why it matters: This is the first operational layer of the Institutional Filter—linking civil and cyber defence. For Bulgaria, engagement through the National Cyber Security Directorate is essential to secure early-warning visibility and qualify domestic firms for EU crisis-infrastructure contracts.

2. Council Accelerates the Defence Industrial Instrument and EDA Expansion EU leaders reaffirmed the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) and asked the European Defence Agency to prepare an expanded procurement and financing roadmap by late 2025. The initiative aims to strengthen Europe’s autonomous defence production capacity later this decade.

Why it matters: This hardens the Defence Procurement Filter.