The president's proposal for a national referendum has not yet been submitted to the National Assembly. This was stated by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov to journalists regarding the announcement by the head of state on Friday evening of submitting a proposal to the parliament to hold a national referendum on the euro, a reporter for Novini.bg reported.
You have seen the public reaction since Friday. Due to the fact that such a proposal would violate the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, would violate European Union law and would violate the Law on Direct Participation of Citizens, with all the arguments that were put forward, the president may reconsider his intention to submit such a proposal. I would use this opportunity to call for this to happen. Unless the proposal itself is aimed at holding a referendum, which in my opinion is not the president's goal. The goal is to seriously discourage the European institutions from issuing a convergence report in June. The next report is subject to consideration in December, which means that Bulgaria may not be in the eurozone in 2026. This is one of the goals not only of the president, but also of a part of society, subject to serious hybrid pressure and of business that does not want to be enlightened, Zhelyazkov said.
20 years ago, on May 11, 2025, the National Assembly with over 230 members of parliament ratified the Act on the Accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union, which provides for Bulgaria to be part of the Economic and Monetary Union. This law has been ratified and it is part of Bulgarian legislation, as well as Bulgaria's membership in the Economic and Monetary Union, the Prime Minister pointed out.
20 years ago Bulgaria has a derogation, which means that it did not meet the accession criteria. At the moment when Bulgaria meets these criteria, its accession to the eurozone is by virtue of the treaty and its ratification, and not by the will of the National Assembly or any other body. Our law on direct citizen participation states that a referendum can be held on issues related to an international treaty before its ratification. That is, if there was to be a referendum, it should have been held before May 11, 2005, commented Rosen Zhelyazkov.
Such a referendum, which cannot be part of the competences of the National Assembly, because a national referendum is held on issues within the competences of the National Assembly, cannot commit the National Assembly to a decision on such a request. I call on the National Assembly not to allow the consideration of such an unconstitutional proposal, the Prime Minister emphasized.