"I found out about the president's final decision on May 9 - this is his right, but it is my right to bear the consequences of this act". This was told to BNT by Krum Zarkov, former legal secretary to Rumen Radev, who left the position after the head of state announced his proposal for a referendum on the euro.
Zarkov explained that Rumen Radev did not accept his position on the referendum and that is why he decided to leave:
"When the president obviously did not accept my position, this is a disgrace to my work and if the legal secretary has elementary professional dignity, he would understand this gesture and vacate the position".
The indisputable part of the case is that international treaties are above national legislation, Zarkov said. According to the Bulgarian law on referendums, a referendum cannot be held on an issue that has already been settled by a ratified international treaty.
The dispute arises from whether there is a specific date for the certain obligation of the member states to enter the eurozone, he explained.
"Our Constitutional Court has ruled on this issue - it asks and answers the question whether Bulgaria can decide by a certain date not to introduce the euro, which is a question essentially posed by the president. And the Constitutional Court rules that Bulgaria, given the obligations it has assumed under the EU international treaty, cannot unilaterally determine the date on which it will introduce the euro. Bulgaria can determine when to trigger the procedure for implementing this commitment. It is triggered in two ways - first by requesting to enter the so-called waiting room. The second is by requesting the convergence report. Therefore, a referendum on the issue could not be held constitutionally".
The presidency is a one-person institution and, unlike the parliament and the judiciary, the president has the right to make whatever decisions he sees fit, Zarkov explained. He described as nonsense the claims that the "long arm of Moscow" is behind the referendum.
"We must stop, if we want to have a democratic debate, from looking for conspiracies behind every position. The president decided to make a move, he obviously has his reasons. In my opinion, legally this move will not lead to anything, only the political consequences remain".