Presidency of the Council of the EU; Council of the EU; European media sphere; Bulgarian presidency; Bulgaria; public image; media profile

The presidency of the Council of the EU gives member states a chance for visibility, publicity, manifestation of their capacities and strengths as well as an opportunity to navigate independently the connotations and impressions, connected to them in the public field in European scale. For Bulgaria changing the negative stereotypes in the European media sphere was a key element holding the Presidency in 2018 as stated multiple times by public officials. The following analysis aims to trace what is the media image of Bulgaria in three main European news outlets and to identify the persistent topics that create the public profile of the country in the EU public sphere during the Presidency.