President Rumen Radev announced that he will refer the matter to the Constitutional Court due to the refusal of the National Assembly to consider his proposal for a referendum on our country's readiness to adopt the euro in January next year. According to him, there is an "unprecedented violation of the law by the National Assembly, in the person of its Speaker".
Exactly a week after the head of state announced in an extraordinary statement that he would submit a request to the parliament to hold a referendum on our country's readiness to adopt the euro from January next year, and on May 13, parliamentary chief Natalia Kiselova returned the request to him as illegal, Rumen Radev stated:
"I will also refer the matter to the Constitutional Court for the unprecedented violation of the law by the National Assembly, in the person of its Speaker".
According to the head of state, scenarios are being staged in political circles that aim to silence important topics in society.
Rumen Radev, President of the Republic of Bulgaria: "The manipulations that the referendum I propose is against the euro are an insult to the intellect of the Bulgarians".
He emphasized that his goal is clear - for every citizen to express their readiness to adopt the single European currency in 2026.
Rumen Radev, President of the Republic of Bulgaria: "And my proposal is already yielding results. Finally, debates have begun about our real readiness to adopt the euro next year. Finally, we heard from the mouths of Messrs. Peevski and Borisov the words "prices" and "need for control". Too late and under pressure.".
President Radev explained that he expected to see a package of measures along with the request for an extraordinary convergence report, but such were not proposed by the government. He emphasized that he did not see them a month later when the budget was adopted. He also recalled that the data of the Ministry of Finance from May 5 show that the revenues for the first quarter are 20% behind.
Rumen Radev, President of the Republic of Bulgaria: "That is why I proposed a nationwide referendum on our readiness as a state and society to adopt the euro in 2026. Because both the benefits and the risks lie with the people. And it is precisely those in power who must inform them frankly, convince them and seek their support. If they do not receive it, they will have one year to convince them. But not with spells, but with real actions".
The President recalled that according to NSI data, about 30% of Bulgarians are at risk of poverty, and over 1.3 million people live below the poverty line. He also pointed out that in a country that recently adopted the euro, a certain increase in prices was observed, especially in the services sector, three months before the adoption of the single currency, and then the introduction of price ceilings was necessary.
Rumen Radev, President of the Republic of Bulgaria: "Unlike the many members of parliament who have abandoned their constitutional duty to represent not only their voters, but all Bulgarian citizens, I will continue to represent all Bulgarian citizens, including the poor, the voiceless and those who disagree. Because solidarity is more important than currency. If we lose solidarity, the social fabric quickly disintegrates and the path to currency does not pass through the corpse of democracy and the law. It passes through the ballot box. That is why I will continue my efforts to have the Bulgarians asked in a referendum".
On May 13, the Speaker of the Parliament Natalia Kiselova returned the proposal of the head of state for the referendum, referring to the Constitution, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and the Treaty on the Accession of Bulgaria to the EU.