Are we “for“ the euro, or against it. What will happen to the currency board that now protects us if we adopt the euro… Economist and political analyst Nikolay Nikov spoke to FACTI.
- Mr. Nikov, President Rumen Radev challenged the political parties after announcing that he would ask people to express their opinion on whether to adopt the euro from January 1, 2026, through a referendum. Whether it will pass the parliament is another question, but the topic has been raised. How do you see things?
- No to the euro, no to the currency board! Let's keep the Bulgarian lev, but secured by our gold reserves and transition to a presidential republic. This is the right path for Bulgaria. In case we still decide to remain under monetary slavery or to replace it with another, it is not done with a referendum at the last minute without adequate information security.
- But it is a fact that the currency board has protected us from many currency collapses. Without a board, don't things become very untied financially…
- Look, there is no other country in the world that has been under a currency board for 28 years. And now we have a big debate whether to adopt the euro or not. The only difference is that we are breaking away from the control of the International Monetary Fund in order to surrender to the European Central Bank. And on top of that, debates and referendums about who we will enslave.
- You say we are enslaved, but we still talk about financial stability and peace for the people or…
- Our position is extremely humiliating for a country that has too much of everything. However, we say that the voters are stupid, the politicians are corrupt, the bankers are greedy, and for this reason we do not want to have our own monetary policy.
The option is to try it ourselves, but not in the conditions of this worn-out parliamentarism and a run-down yard. The way is a presidential republic.
– Once again, when we talk to you, you say this. But are we ready for a presidential republic?
- I will say it again, the way is a presidential republic, limited freedom, a clear path and geopolitical orientation, our own monetary policy and a Bulgarian lev, secured by our gold. We oblige gold mining companies to sell gold at the current exchange rate of the Bulgarian National Bank, and we also encourage businesses and households to sell their gold to the state bank. In case we completely fail to do this, we can always surrender to the Americans, Europeans, Chinese or Russians to control us through a currency board, a single currency or whatever is relevant.
- How will people be convinced that it will be better. We are still experiencing our democracy, and a presidential republic is a different system….
- It is obvious that the people are not ripe for this path of salvation and they are currently preoccupied with whether to accept the euro. Perhaps there is some logic and expectations that Europe will pour money into us, but how can the people know this? We can also rely on the blocked reserves that ensure the existence of the currency board. They say they will be stolen, which is certain, like all the money in the country, but we will still do something. If a highway costs 10 billion euros, we will build it for 30 billion euros because of the thefts, but we will have a highway.
- And yet. What do you think about adopting the euro?
- Maybe a few years after adopting the euro we should get rid of it and start conducting our own monetary policy. It makes sense, because our membership in Europe is a marriage of convenience and whatever we manage to take well, then - if Europe goes bankrupt, we leave. Maybe we have statesmen who care about their homeland, which I highly doubt. There is nothing wrong with referendums, it is a democratic and fair method, but we do them in a crazy way.
- Didn't we have a referendum years ago on whether to build the "Belene" nuclear power plant or not?
- Yes, that's right. Couldn't we put the state company with this project on the world stock exchanges and check through the market whether it makes sense or not. Only then should we conduct a survey of the people. At the moment, in conditions of this complete disinformation, asking people through a referendum "for or against the euro" is like asking Uncle Kolyo from the village of Tsvraknevo what boards to use for NASA's newest spacecraft.
In my personal capacity as an economist, I believe that we should not accept the euro, because in addition to the above reasons, I expect that the euro will collapse. Europe and the West as a whole are in a difficult situation. There is over-indebtedness, expensive resources, an aging population, and slow economic growth.
In these circumstances, handing over monetary control to Europe is, to put it mildly, adventurous.
This is a personal opinion, I can justify it with facts and logical conclusions, but in this case much more is needed. A public consultation or revision of the decision to enter the eurozone should take place after adequate conclusions from economists are heard. These conclusions should be made after debates and clashes of opinions from specialists with different beliefs and motives. Perhaps the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences should make an official summary so that the entire public can be informed about this and then a referendum can be held.
In case the society continues to be so inert and uninterested, it is no wonder that we will adopt the euro, an economic cataclysm will occur in Europe and we will go back 100 years. Then we will already be poor and completely ignorant of our monetary independence. In three words - we will doom ourselves to fight, hunger and dictatorship. The people must become more vigilant and uncompromising in order to demand adequacy from those who make decisions.
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Nikolay Nikov. He was born in 1977. He studied “International Business“ at the London branch of the American International University in Richmond (American International University) and “Insurance and Risk Management“ at City University (City University Business School) in London. He also has a PhD in Economics and Management from Southwestern University Blagoevgrad. After a dynamic career in the City of London, he returned to Bulgaria and until 2012 developed a career in the field of finance. He was also the chief coordinator in the “Management of Multinational Insurance Programs“ department at AIG, Europe (Great Britain), London. He is currently developing theories and teaching in the field of economic and business sciences. It also develops business in the field of industrial entrepreneurship.