Bulgarian PM welcomes Speaker’s refusal to hold vote on President’s proposed referendum on euro
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov welcomed on May 13 National Assembly Speaker Natalia Kiselova’s refusal of President Roumen Radev’s proposal for Parliament to vote on a national referendum on the country’s adoption of the euro as of January 2026.
“The position of the Speaker of the National Assembly through her act deserves admiration because it is in line with the principles of the rule of law,” Zhelyazkov told reporters.
Earlier on May 13, it was reported that Kiselova had written to Radev refusing the proposal he tabled in Parliament a day earlier for the referendum, which Radev has sought to characterise as a “test for democracy”.
Kiselova said that such a vote would be in contradiction to the constitution, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Bulgaria’s EU accession treaty, and Bulgaria’s law on referendums.
Zhelyazkov said: “This issue, which threw the democratic community in the country into great alarm, is now behind us”.
Zhelyazkov said that on May 13, he and central Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) governor Dimitar Radev had signed a position, to be sent to EU institutions, in support of the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria from January 1 2026.
“This position confirms all actions taken, both by the executive branch and the BNB, based on the decisions of the National Assembly in recent years, in support of measures to achieve the conditions for convergence, as well as for the effective introduction of the euro with all protective mechanisms for Bulgarian society, as of January 1 2026,” Zhelyazkov said.
“The meaning of this position is to reassure our partners in the European Union that Bulgaria values the rule of law, that it is a state governed by the rule of law and that the commitments made should be implemented as they were made, and we must respect the efforts of Bulgarian society over the past 20 years since we signed the Treaty of Accession to the European Union and its ratification,” he said.
Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said on May 13 that the European Commission (EC) had given a positive assessment of Bulgaria’s fiscal and structural plan up to 2028.
This means that the EC is confident that Bulgaria is on track towards stable public finances, which is among the main requirements for the euro zone,” Petkova said, as quoted by Bulgarian National Radio.
“A few hours ago, the EC published its assessment of Bulgaria’s medium-term fiscal and structural plan for the period from 2025 to 2028 and the assessment is positive.
“This is extremely good news for Bulgaria, as this medium-term fiscal and structural plan for the country determines what the financial framework will be for the next three years and the positive assessment means that Bulgaria will have public finances that are stable and sustainable,” she said.
Petkova gave an assurance that at this stage there is no change in the schedule that the European institutions have set for Bulgaria’s assessment of the euro.
She said that the convergence reports of the European Commission and the ECB should be ready on June 4.
Petkova said that she has no reason to be concerned about Kiselova’s decision to send back Radev’s proposal for a referendum.
“Ms. Kiselova is a professor of constitutional law, I have no reason to be concerned about her competence,” she said.
Radev, reacting to Kiselova’s decision, said: “In its fear of the vote of Bulgarian citizens in a referendum on Bulgaria’s readiness to introduce the euro in 2026, today the new majority in parliament trampled on the constitution and the laws, using the Speaker of the National Assembly.
Roumen Radev. Photo: president.bg
“This act collapses the little remaining trust in the institutions and exposes their claims that they work in the interests of the people and take into account their will,” Radev said.
“The parliamentary majority is moving towards the euro zone, but is moving Bulgaria away from the Europe of democracy and the rule of law,” he said.
(Photo of Zhelyazkov: government.bg)
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