This September, a cross-border team of investigative journalists exposed massive fraud in European Union-funded projects in Bulgaria and Romania in what became known as the #GPGate scandal. The revelations shed light on alleged extensive corruption in the construction sector, but they also underscored the difficult press freedom situation in Bulgaria. The safety of the investigative team came under threat, and in October, the country witnessed the gruesome murder of a television journalist, Viktoria Marinova, who reported on the #GPGate scandal.
