The Bulgarian representatives in the European Parliament Hristo Petrov and Nikola Minchev came out with an official position regarding the decision of Rumen Radev to submit to the National Assembly a referendum on adopting the euro. They stated that this action constitutes "a serious provocation and an attempt to divert the country from its European path and question its place at the heart of the integration process in Europe".
The position also states:
"The National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria had the opportunity to rule on a similar request to hold a national referendum, which was rightly rejected by a convincing majority of the representatives of the people in the 49th National Assembly, and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria confirmed that holding a referendum on the date of accession to the eurozone is constitutionally unconstitutional.
The inconsistency in the position of the president, which "evolved" from November 2022, when he explicitly stated that “holding a referendum on issues regulated in already adopted and ratified international treaties is impossible“, until yesterday, when the president stood shoulder to shoulder with the theses of a party whose representatives are celebrating May 9 on Red Square.
Bulgaria is a republic with a parliamentary government. The National Assembly is the highest state body, to whose competence the Constitution has assigned the implementation of the most important state functions. The political forces that have recognized Bulgaria's European integration as their priority, a step of which is the admission of our country to the Eurozone, have consistently gained the greatest trust from Bulgarian citizens and have represented a majority in this most representative body of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Also, it is no coincidence that the holding of a referendum is described as the “nuclear weapon of democracy”, precisely because of the need to approach it with extreme caution, and not with outright populism, as is evident from the request to hold an unconstitutional one. Moreover, in its practice, the Constitutional Court has had the opportunity to point out that holding referendums on any issues, including those that are initially known not to have direct legal effect, may lead to the use of direct democracy for purposes contrary to it itself.
In addition to everything else, given the dubious abilities of Bulgarian institutions to oppose foreign disinformation interference, holding a referendum on issues that are key to the long-term future of the country also poses significant risks.
We recognize that conducting an explanatory campaign in connection with the adoption of the euro is imperative, but this has no bearing on and cannot be used as an argument for holding a referendum on the topic.
The announcement of the President's initiative on Europe Day, which initiative solely serves the strategic interests of those celebrating Victory Day, is yet another proof and timely reminder that in the current complicated geopolitical situation, when European unity is more necessary than ever, and external factors with internal representation are trying in every way to divert Bulgaria from its European path, Bulgaria's European choice cannot be taken for granted, and moments are yet to come in which our country will have to reaffirm its place at the center of European integration."