site.btaFormer Presidential Secretary for Legal Affairs Zarkov: Bulgaria Cannot Unilaterally Determine Euro Introduction Date

Former presidential secretary for legal affairs Krum Zarkov explained his decision to resign from his position. In an interview with the Bulgarian National Television on Sunday, he said that when President Rumen Radev did not accept his opinion on the euro referendum, it effectively nullified his activity.

Zarkov clarified his opinion on the referendum, which he presented as legal secretary. Bulgaria's Constitution states that international treaties are above national legislation and below the basic law. A referendum cannot be held on an issue already settled in a ratified international treaty, he stressed.

“The controversy arises on the issue of whether the Lisbon Treaty contains the date of the obligation of the Member States that have adopted it, and this issue has been ruled on by our Constitutional Court (CC), which with a decision of 2024 answers the question whether Bulgaria can decide not to introduce the euro until a certain date,” Zarkov explained.

In his words, the CC ruled that Bulgaria, with the obligations it has undertaken under the international treaty, cannot unilaterally determine the date on which it will introduce the euro.

"What Bulgaria can do is to determine when it can trigger the procedure for implementing this commitment. This procedure is triggered in two ways - by asking to enter the so-called waiting room, which was already done a few years ago, secondly - by requesting a convergence report, which was done a few months ago. Therefore, a referendum on this issue could not constitutionally be held in Bulgaria," Zarkov said.

The President decided to make the move, he obviously has his reasons for doing so, legally this move will not lead to anything, that is, a referendum will not be scheduled, only the political consequences of it remain, Zarkov noted.