The European Union's (EU's) Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton has warned that Bulgaria's extremely low coronavirus vaccination rate is “a big risk” not just for the country but for the entire bloc, reports AFP.

With just 26 per cent of its 6.9 million people fully vaccinated, Bulgaria has the lowest rate in the EU compared to an EU average of 68pc, an AFP count from official sources shows.

“This is a big risk, of course, for Bulgaria but also for anybody else,” Breton told a press briefing.

“If we do not do anything, we may have a Bulgarian variant because too many people have not been vaccinated and that could generate a new generation of variant, which will be very bad news for Bulgaria and for all of us,” Breton said.