site.btaUPDATED President Claims MRF - New Beginning, GERB-UDF Leaders Breached Constitution by Refusing to Consider Euro Referendum

President Rumen Radev argued Friday that MRF – New Beginning Floor Leader Delyan Peevski and GERB-UDF Floor Leader Boyko Borissov are “dismantling the State” and have violated the Constitution and the rights of Bulgarians by refusing to consider his proposal to hold a national referendum with the question: “Do you agree that Bulgaria should introduce the single European currency, the euro, in 2026?”

In May 2025, the head of State proposed to the National Assembly to resolve on holding a national referendum in which Bulgarians would be asked whether they agree to the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria in 2026. The then National Assembly chair Nataliya Kiselova rejected the President's proposal, arguing that it is inadmissible because it is inconsistent with the Constitution, the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, Bulgaria's EU Accession Treaty, the Act concerning the conditions of accession, and the Direct Citizen Participation in State and Local Government Act. At the end of May, President Radev petitioned the Constitutional Court to nullify Kiselova's refusal to include his proposal for the conduct of a national referendum on Parliament's agenda. 

A month later, the Constitutional Court said that an interpretative decision on one of the questions asked would be provided, but not all questions from Radev's petition were admitted for consideration. On November 18, CC ruled that the National Assembly Chair does not have the competence to determine the admissibility of a national referendum and to reject a proposal made by an entity empowered by the law.

“I would like to congratulate all Bulgarian citizens who are fighting for the referendum, as well as those who are protesting against the abuses of those in power,” Radev said. He added that “they may have different motivations, but they share one common cause, and that is Bulgaria.”

“The anger caused by lawlessness will fall upon those who provoke it. This is a painful but inevitable scenario when politicians refuse to hear the voice of the people,” the head of State said.

When asked whether he would withdraw his confidence from the cabinet, the President replied: “Given what I have said, where do you think this is going? What matters most is for people to realize where Bulgaria is heading under this kind of behind-the-scenes governance. It’s not even behind the scenes anymore — it’s out in the open,” Radev said.