site.btaFormer Parliament Chair Kiselova Says She Would Not Change Decision on Euro Referendum Proposal

BSP – United Left MP and former National Assembly chair Nataliya Kiselova said on Saturday that if she had to decide again today whether to allow President Rumen Radev’s proposal for a referendum on Bulgaria's introduction of the euro in 2026, she would take the same decision as in May – she would not allow it. In an interview with Nova News, she commented on the Constitutional Court’s ruling, according to which the Chair of the National Assembly has no authority to assess whether the holding of a national referendum is admissible.

“The Constitutional Court’s ruling involved two requests. One concerned the decision of May 13, and the other – a request for interpretation,” she added. Kiselova said that the decision she issued on May 13 had been coordinated with the chairs of six of the nine parliamentary groups.

Kiselova pointed out that the head of State had the opportunity to refer the matter to the presiding council, as MPs or the Council of Ministers do in other cases when a proposal is suspended. “He decided to turn directly to the Constitutional Court, fully aware that the decision is not subject to constitutional review,” she noted.

Kiselova further commented that the Constitutional Court did not answer one question, namely: “When a request is unconstitutional or unlawful, how should one proceed, and is it mandatory for it to be submitted for discussion in committees?” In her words, the Constitutional Court avoids responsibility and does not answer this question.

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, the President 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.