The parliament ruled on President Rumen Radev's request for a referendum on the euro. The deputies rejected the proposal after a revote with 135 votes "against", 81 "for" and three abstained, Nova TV reported.
It was submitted by "Vazrazhdane" after the Constitutional Court ruled at the beginning of last month that the speaker of the National Assembly does not have the right to unilaterally decide not to consider it.
The president's proposal was distributed to committees by the speaker of the National Assembly at the end of last week. The referendum question is: «Do you agree that Bulgaria should introduce the euro in 2026?»
On November 18, the Constitutional Court issued an interpretative decision in the case of the refusal of the former Speaker of the National Assembly Natalia Kiselova to have the parliament vote on holding a referendum on the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria next year. The proposal was made by the head of state. A day later, the president's comment came:
"The decision of the Constitutional Court is a victory of the law over the arbitrariness of the political class. It is retroactive and states that the Speaker of the National Assembly cannot reject a proposal of an entity authorized by law. I call on the members of parliament to go to the registry office and bring them to the plenary hall, debate them and vote".
Today, on the sidelines of the parliament, the deputy from GERB-SDF Denitsa Sacheva pointed out that there is a decision of the Constitutional Court, which obliges the parliament to consider the case again.
However, the consideration of the item was delayed for hours and the reason was waiting for a representative of the institution of the head of state to announce the motives.
The Speaker of the National Assembly Raya Nazaryan explained that several attempts were made to communicate with the Presidency, but without result. "The motives have been clear since May, but only the presidential institution can present them", she pointed out.
"Vazrazhdane" continues to support the referendum. According to Kostadin Kostadinov, Bulgaria's entry into the eurozone is illegal. "It is illegitimate because the right to a referendum was rejected. There is currently a second petition in the National Assembly. The deprivation of that right is the biggest reason for us to continue, if they force us in, to be taken out of the collapsing financial pyramid", believes the leader of "Vazrazhdane".
Yordan Ivanov from the PP-DB, on the other hand, defined the refusal to have a representative of the presidency come as disrespect for the supreme parliamentary body - the National Assembly. "Just as you can make an omelette out of eggs, but the opposite is impossible, so it is with the eurozone - the best thing is that we will not leave there", he believes.