site.btaUPDATED President Radev to CNN: “There Is No Lack of Consensus on Bulgaria’s European Path, Question Is Whether We Are Ready to Adopt Euro in 2026

In an interview with CNN journalist Richard Quest following his participation in the Tashkent International Investment Forum, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev stressed that the ongoing debate in Bulgaria is not about the country’s European path, but about its readiness to adopt the euro in 2026.

“In the medium and long term, the euro is expected to bring benefits to the Bulgarian economy,” Radev said. “But the lack of consensus in our society is not about the European path of the country,  it’s about whether Bulgaria is ready to introduce the euro in 2026.”

“Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I strongly believe in democracy,” the president added in response to a question on whether he still supports holding a referendum on the euro adoption. He noted that some leaders believe in technocracy, others in the driving force of the economy. “But without democracy, the entire social structure is doomed. That is why I initiated the holding of a referendum on our readiness to join the Eurozone in 2026,” Radev said.

When asked whether a constitutional crisis could arise if the prime minister continues to push for Eurozone accession while the president insists that it should only happen following a referendum, Radev dismissed such concerns.

“There is no constitutional crisis, and there cannot be one,” he stated. “However, this could undermine the social contract between the government and Bulgarian citizens and erode public trust in the institutions,” he warned.

Radev recalled that Bulgaria has held seven elections over the past four years, during which public trust in institutions has visibly eroded.

“A referendum could help restore trust in the Bulgarian government,” he said, “because one of the aims of countries that have held referenda is precisely to strengthen the legitimacy of such processes.”

He also noted that the positive assessments from the European Commission and the European Central Bank are the result of years of conservative financial policy, hard work, and sacrifices -  costs that have been borne by the Bulgarian people.

Asked whether the time for holding a referendum on the euro has already passed, Radev responded that the situation is highly dynamic, and everything — including within the European Union itself — is changing rapidly. As a key example, he pointed to the UK’s exit from the EU.

The president also stressed that 18 of the 27 EU member states held referenda on their accession to the EU under the binding agreement to eventually adopt the euro.

In response to a question about the EU’s latest round of sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, President Radev called for a realistic assessment:

“First and foremost, we must understand and acknowledge what the result of the sanctions is, and who is actually benefiting from them,” he said.

According to the president, the country that has benefited most from the sanctions imposed on Russia is China. He explained that China gains access to cheap Russian energy resources and military technologies. With European companies withdrawing from the Russian market, the EU has effectively opened that space for Chinese companies, further tightening the strategic relationship between Moscow and Beijing.

When asked how a ceasefire and a peaceful resolution could be achieved without rewarding Russian aggression, Radev emphasized that the international community is heading toward an extremely difficult political and moral dilemma.

“The Americans call this a ‘boots-on-the-ground warfare,’” the president said. “This is a battle for every inch of territory, and the most important factor in it is not the weapons, but the people.” He warned that a critical moment is approaching when Ukraine may simply run out of soldiers willing or able to fight.

“On the other hand, do you really believe Russia will ever give up Crimea and the other occupied regions?” Radev asked. He then laid out two stark choices:

The first, he said, is to accept that in the 21st century, territory can be seized by force — effectively abandoning international law and the UN Charter.

The second is to send NATO troops to defend Ukraine and push Russia back to its 1991 borders — a move that would mean a third world war with devastating, and likely nuclear, consequences.

“This is the greatest dilemma,” the president concluded.

In view of this, President Radev emphasized his strong support for the efforts of the new U.S. administration to initiate a peace process between Russia and Ukraine. According to him, there are three main instruments for influencing this process — military force, economic sanctions, and diplomacy — and the full potential of diplomacy has yet to be fully mobilized.

This is why the Bulgarian head of state firmly backs the efforts of President Donald Trump. “I believe he is a pragmatic businessman who does not accept the devastation caused by any war. My disappointment is that President Trump still lacks sufficient support within the European Union for his peace initiatives,” Radev stated.

The president added that some European leaders refuse to accept the realities on the battlefield, which in his view is also a significant problem.

“This war challenges our security architecture, industrial base, economies, and social systems. But above all, it challenges our critical thinking — our ability to recognize and analyze all strategic and operational aspects, to define a desired end state, and to understand what ‘victory’ really means,” Radev said. He added that the war in Ukraine also tests our ability to set adequate political goals and translate them into rational strategies.

Regarding his participation in the Tashkent International Investment Forum, Radev noted that cooperation with the countries of Central Asia is becoming increasingly important for the European Union. He said that Bulgaria provides the key element in that relationship: connectivity.

The head of State stated that this opens significant prospects for the development of bilateral relations with the countries of the region, as well as for trade and exchange in various fields. However, connectivity — transport, energy, and digital — is essential, without which opportunities for cooperation remain limited.

The president also noted that Bulgaria can participate in this process through its modernized ports of Varna and Burgas, as well as with the world’s second-busiest land border for freight transport, which serves as a gateway from Europe to Asia.

When asked how he perceives the current events in the United States — including the riots in Los Angeles, issues in the Supreme Court, and NATO-related challenges — Radev responded, “We have enough problems at home not to dive into Washington’s problems, which are like an ocean compared to our Black Sea.”

Asked what Bulgaria expects from the US, the president added that the country expects the United States to remain a factor of stability and democracy worldwide.

President Radev took part in the Tashkent International Investment Forum, which was also attended by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. The Bulgarian president is on an official visit to Uzbekistan, having previously visited Kazakhstan on an official trip.