President or do we have no president, but now a politician?

President or do we have no president, but now a politician? What should we expect from the head of state Rumen Radev, after he made an address to the nation with his intention to call a referendum on whether to adopt the euro from January 1, 2026. But… It is one thing what Rumen Radev did, another is why he did it.

The president announced the convening of a referendum on a topic that the Constitutional Court has ruled to be unconstitutional.
Here is a little chronology

November 9, 2022
President Rumen Radev responds to the “Vazrazhdane“ party regarding the possibility of holding a referendum on adopting the euro. “Conducting a referendum on issues settled in already adopted and ratified international treaties is impossible”, President Rumen Radev responds to the request of “Vazrazhdane”.

This is happening after representatives of the party, including leader Kostadin Kostadinov, responded to the invitation of the head of state for consultations on forming a cabinet.

Radev then explained that there are restrictions on the organization of such a type of public consultation, set by our Constitution. “International treaties, especially when it comes to the European Union, are above national legislation”, the president was categorical.

Kostadinov then explained that his party wants a referendum on preserving the lev until incomes in our country reach 90% of the European average. This, according to forecasts quoted by the leader of “Vazrazhdane”, would happen in about 20 years.

May 9, 2025
President Rumen Radev requested a referendum on Bulgaria's adoption of the euro. “Therefore, I am submitting to the National Assembly a proposal to hold a national referendum with the question “Do you agree that Bulgaria should adopt the single European currency – euro, in 2026?”. The referendum will be a test of the democratic nature of the National Assembly and will show who follows the principles of democracy and who denies Bulgarians the right to determine their future. The referendum will be a healing one for Bulgarian democracy“, the head of state indicated.
The Constitutional Court – February 2024

In February 2024, the Constitutional Court finally confirmed that a national referendum on preserving the leva as a currency would not be held at the request of the "Vazrazhdane" party. Kostadinov's people demanded that the decision of the 49th National Assembly to reject the holding of the referendum be declared unconstitutional.

In 2023, the "Vazrazhdane" party collected over half a million signatures in support of a national referendum with the question "Should the Bulgarian lev remain the only official currency in the country until 2043?" . Although the signatures significantly exceeded the required number, the National Assembly did not allow it to be held - due to unconstitutionality.

Thus - upon a complaint by Kostadin Kostadinov's deputies, the issue reached the Constitutional Court.

In February 2024, in their reasoning, the judges of the Constitutional Court examined in detail Bulgaria's Treaty of Accession to the EU.
"Through the Treaty, duly ratified by the National Assembly, Bulgaria has assumed a valid obligation to participate in the monetary union. It is subject not to the setting of specific dates for the Member States with a derogation, but to their fulfillment of criteria, which the Member States have voluntarily agreed to fulfill through the treaties they have signed.

The assessment of the moment when a Member State is ready to adopt the euro, i.e. has fulfilled the convergence criteria, is carried out not unilaterally by the national parliament of the Member State, but by the Council of the European Union, on a proposal from the Commission, after consultation with the European Parliament, after discussion in the European Council and after a recommendation made by a qualified majority of the members of the Council representing the Member States whose currency is the euro. This means that the Bulgarian Parliament, after the voluntary inclusion of Bulgaria in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II), cannot unilaterally set a specific date by which it will not adopt the euro, because this would be a rewriting of the conditions and procedure for adopting the euro, which is contrary to European Union law and is constitutionally inadmissible," wrote the judges of the Constitutional Court.
President or do we have no president, but a politician now?

With this action, Rumen Radev clearly shows that he is doing something that is unconstitutional, after the Constitutional Court has already made a decision on the case. Naturally, the parties raised the issue because the “president” is their enemy by presumption. Radev's action is not for its own sake, just thrown in front of the public or done out of stubbornness. There is a thought in it to test the public. If people raise the issue and start protests, for example, the moment to announce a new party is extremely good. A new party for Radev, of course.

Tell the Bulgarian that you will take his money and watch what happens on the streets. The issue will escalate at the beginning of next month, when we will receive the convergence report from the European Commission. 95% of it will be positive, and this means that the parties - both in the cabinet and outside it (understand the opposition), will beat their chests that this is a success for them too. There will be presidential elections next year, so Radev doesn't care. If Rumen Radev's political “project” is announced now, he will have a year before participating in elections. Thus, Radev becomes a politician, and Iliyana Yotova finishes her term (a year and a bit) as president. It is also very likely that next year, along with the presidential elections, there will also be early parliamentary elections, so now is the time for Radev to raise his fist again, but as the leader of a party. A new role, a new challenge…

It remains to be seen.