site.btaAnti-Euro Protests to Take Place in Sofia, Countrywide on May 31, Vazrazhdane Leader Says

Members of the public and public activists are organizing a protest against the adoption of the euro in front of Parliament in Sofia at 12 noon on May 31, said Kostadin Kostadinov, whose Vazrazhdane Party supports the initiative. Protest actions will also take place in other cities countywide, the nationalist party leader told journalists at the National Assembly on Wednesday.

"This is the only way - to go out and show that this country is not run by people elected by Bulgarians but by proxies doing what Brussels dictates at this point," Kostadinov said.

Commenting on a statement by President Rumen Radev that prices may rise once the European Commission releases its convergence report on the euro, the Vazrazhdane leader commented: "These are not apprehensions, these are facts because inflation has surged in each and every country that has adopted the euro."

Earlier this year, Kostadinov said on National Radio that keeping Bulgaria out is his party's top priority. He threatened that if entry is secured by "fake data", his party will spearhead street protests, and the people will storm Parliament and the Council of Ministers, and "we will set you on fire". Talking to the media, Kostadinov described the eurozone entry as "the worst blow to people's incomes and savings since 1997" and that this "theft" should not be allowed to happen by any means. In his opinion, accession at this point would be a "disaster for public finance".