site.btaParliament Runs Out of Time to Vote on National Referendum Proposal to Protect Bulgarian Lev

On Wednesday, Bulgarian MPs did not manage to vote on the draft resolution tabled by the parties Vazrazhdane and Velichie proposing the holding of a national referendum asking voters to say whether they agree that the Bulgarian lev should be kept as the country's only official currency until 2043. At the end of the sitting, Parliament rejected the proposal from Vazrazhdane to extend the session until the vote on this point could take place. The debate on the issue lasted for hours.

National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova said during the discussion that Parliament cannot vote on matters outside of its constitutional competence. “Don’t give Switzerland as an example – it is not an EU member,” she advised, further adding: “Claiming that we don’t want referendums is not correct – this is not a political issue, but a legal one.”

At the start of the debate, Margarita Mahaeva from Vazrazhdane argued that the question was directly related to national sovereignty and the preservation of Bulgarian identity. Refusing to give the people a voice on such an important issue is a denial of their sovereign right, she stressed. Mahaeva reminded that over 600,000 citizens had signed the petition for the referendum. According to her, the question is not unconstitutional because the EU accession treaty states that Bulgaria must join the eurozone, but it does not specify when.

Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov said that when one speaks about treaties, both parties must agree, otherwise it is a dictatorship. “There is no date set in our treaty with the EU, and we are not changing anything in it,” he emphasized. “What we are saying is not propaganda,” Kostadinov insisted.

Maria Ilieva from Velichie said that her party supports Vazrazhdane’s initiatives for government change. “For us, this is a step towards unity. We want the Bulgarian people to be consulted on such an important issue,” she said. Yuliana Mateeva added that “for a large portion of Bulgarians, joining the eurozone feels like a forced act”.

On behalf of GERB-UDF, Aleksandar Ivanov highlighted that, according to European statistics, inflation rates in eurozone countries are lower compared to others. “Bulgaria will gain its voice in many areas – for example, investment is expected to increase by over 100%,” Ivanov explained. “I don’t believe it is true that we will abandon Bulgarian national interests,” he added. “Our main trade partner is the EU, Bulgarian citizens will have more financial resources, not less,” Ivanov continued.

Dragomir Stoynev from BSP – United Left reminded that Bulgaria’s application for EU membership was submitted during the government of Zhan Videnov. “At all key moments, the future of Bulgaria has always been supported by the BSP,” he stressed. “True leadership is when people follow us, follow you,” Stoynev said.