Bulgarian Constitutional Court again denies request to hold euro referendum
Bulgaria’s Constitutional Court ruled as inadmissible the complaint by 51 MPs requesting the court to overturn a National Assembly decision not to hold a referendum on the country joining the euro zone.
In its ruling on January 23, the court said that Parliament can approve holding a referendum only if the subject matter was solely in its purview. Joining the euro zone, however, was the subject of Bulgaria’s EU accession treaty and Bulgaria could not unilaterally modify that. Additionally, the court said that any referendum outcome should be one that can be implemented.
In this instance, Bulgaria could not implement a referendum decision against joining the euro area on January 1 2026 due to its inability to make unilateral decisions on the issue, whereas the second possible outcome, joining the euro zone on January 1, has already happened.
“As a result, there is no constitutional dispute that can be a suitable subject for deliberation by the Constitutional Court and this request is inadmissible,” the court said in its ruling.
The referendum was first proposed by then-president Roumen Radev in May 2025, with the question of whether the country should adopt the euro as its currency as of January 1 2026.
At the time, there was no formal decision from the European Commission and European Central Bank on Bulgaria’s application to join the euro area. EU’s institutions formally approved Bulgaria’s application in July.
Radev’s referendum proposal was not initially discussed by Parliament , the proposal blocked by former National Assembly Speaker Natalia Kiselova. A constitutional scholar, Kiselova argued that the court had previously ruled on the subject of Bulgaria’s euro zone accession and as such, the issue was outside Parliament’s purview.
The Constitutional Court rejected Radev’s appeal to overturn Kiselova’s decision as inadmissible in June 2025. However, in November, it ruled on the second part of Radev’s appeal, saying that Kiselova’s powers as Speaker did not allow her to prevent Radev’s referendum request from being debated by Parliament.
Following the court’s decision, pro-Russian party Vuzrazhdane, which strongly opposes Bulgaria joining the euro area, put Radev’s proposal (which he had not withdrawn) on the National Assembly’s order paper.
The motion to hold Radev’s proposed referendum was soundly defeated, prompting Vuzrazhdane and several other small parties to file a new complaint with the Constitutional Court, that being the one the court rejected on January 23.
The court’s decision also comes on the same day that it approved Radev’s resignation as Bulgaria’s president, which he formally submitted earlier this week.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
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