Bulgaria's President Slams Parliament Over Ignored Referendum Proposal on Euro Adoption

President Rumen Radev has called on Bulgarian MPs to act on his request for a referendum on adopting the euro, describing the Constitutional Court’s ruling as a triumph of law over political arbitrariness. He urged deputies to bring his proposal and supporting arguments to the plenary hall and take a clear stance on whether they would respect the public’s will or ignore it.

Radev criticized the refusal of Kostadin Angelov, who chaired the parliamentary session, to submit a motion from the “Revival” party to vote on the president’s May 12 proposal for a national euro referendum. Angelov had argued the proposal was inadmissible since it had been returned to the presidential administration on May 13.

The president emphasized that he initially submitted the referendum request on May 9, noting the strategic significance of Bulgaria’s decision to adopt the euro. He pointed out that societal consensus is lacking on the country’s readiness for the eurozone and on the timing of adoption.

According to Radev, the Constitutional Court’s ruling clarifies that the Speaker of Parliament cannot reject proposals from legally authorized authorities. He described the current parliamentary handling of his referendum request as a farce and a new violation of the law. He stressed that claims deputies could not vote because his documents were returned are false; his proposals remain in Parliament and are available for consideration.

Radev insisted that MPs, if they respect democratic principles and the public’s will, should retrieve the documents from their offices, present them in plenary, debate, and vote on them. He warned that the law requires a decision and lamented that instead of passing legislation, the current Parliament fosters lawlessness and political scandal.