site.btaConstitutional Court’s Decision Was Expected, Says Continue the Change Co-Chair Petkov

Continue the Change Co-Chair Kiril Petkov said Wednesday that the Constitutional Court’s decision related to President Rumen Radev’s referendum proposal on Bulgaria’s euro adoption bid for 2026 was expected. “This decision is in accord with the Bulgarian Constitution,” he added.

The Constitutional Court unanimously denied Radev’s request to declare unconstitutional National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova’s rejection of his referendum proposal. It also found inadmissible Radev’s request to interpret constitutional provisions in view of the question: “Must the National Assembly pronounce itself on a proposal for a national referendum made by a constitutional authority empowered by the law?”

“We said it from the beginning that the only possible times for legal referendum were in 2005, before Bulgaria became an EU Member State, and in 2020 – before the entered the so-called ‘euro waiting room’,” Petkov noted.

The court will examine in substance only part of Radev's claim, which asks: “Based on her constitutional powers, does the Chairperson of the National Assembly have the competence to judge on the requirements for the admissibility of holding a national referendum as she denies a proposal made by an entity empowered by the law?”

The question refers to provisions in the Constitution concerning the functions of the National Assembly and its Chair, the CC said.