Bulgaria National Assembly rejects proposal of referendum for the adoption of the euro

Sofia: The chair of the Bulgarian National Assembly rejected on Tuesday the President’s proposal for a referendum on Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro as national currency.

As reported by the Bulgarian News Agency, the proposal for a referendum did not comply with several legislative instruments. Nataliya Kiselova, chair of the National Assembly, rejected the proposal as unconstitutional. The proposal specifically did not comply with Article 4(3), seeking Bulgaria’s participation in the development of the EU, and Articles 5 and 85 of the Bulgarian Constitution. Attention was also paid to EU rules, including Article 5 of the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded. Here, Bulgaria committed to participating in the Economic and Monetary Union, which would entail the adoption of a common currency, the euro.

The adoption of the euro in Bulgaria is shedding light on the political division in the country. President Rumen Radev signed the proposal for a national referendum on May 12, 2025. The referendum would have included the question of whether citizens agree or not with Bulgaria introducing the single European currency in 2026. Radev sustains that a decision on the future currency of Bulgaria shall take into consideration the will of the people and a convincing national consensus.

The rejection of this proposal did not come only from the chair of the National Assembly. Bulgarian Prime Minister Zhelyazkov also called the proposal unconstitutional. Zhelyazkov urged the President to reconsider his intentions. He further claimed that under Bulgarian law, a referendum on issues of international treaties can only be held before ratification, and Bulgaria already ratified the act dictating its intentions to be a member of the Economic and Monetary Union. The Prime Minister’s support for the introduction of the euro has been so vocal that, together with the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank Dimitar Radev, Zhelyazkov signed a position in support of the introduction of the euro from January 1, 2026.

President Radev responded to the National Assembly’s rejection by claiming the parliamentary majority is driving Bulgaria towards the Eurozone but away from Europe’s democracy and rule of law.

Bulgaria took important steps towards the adoption of the euro as currency. In a recent Eurogroup meeting, Irish Minister of Finance Paschal Donohoe said, “We appreciate Bulgaria’s ongoing efforts and its commitment to economic stability and convergence with the euro area”. The European Commission expects to report on Bulgaria’s readiness to adopt the euro in early June. The convergence criteria under Article 140 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union includes price stability, sound public finances, exchange rate stability and convergence in long-term interest rates.