The Euro - how close are we and are we ready… The Constitutional Court rejected as inadmissible President Rumen Radev's request for a mandatory interpretation of parts of the Constitution related to a national referendum on the issue of the introduction of the euro. Where are we going… Velizar Enchev, former EU ambassador to Croatia, spoke in front of FACT.
- Mr. Enchev, does President Rumen Radev, who called for a referendum, remain misunderstood or pursue personal interests when commenting on the topic?
- It is not Rumen Radev, but Natalia Kiselova who pursues personal interests. The President demanded that the people have the decisive say on the euro in a national referendum, while Kiselova cut the referendum on the euro to keep her seat. She simply carried out the directive of the trio “Borisov-Zafirov-Peevski“.
Let me make an important clarification about my position towards her, while I was participating in the coalition “BSP-United Left“ I was the only one who voted against her candidacy for head of parliament at the Coalition Council. Even at one of the council meetings, in her presence, I said that her election as Speaker of the National Assembly was a vicious deal – BSP-United Left“ gets this post in exchange for entering the GERB government. To my surprise, she did not react at all to my harsh words, did not refute me, was silent and even smiled ironically...
Rumen Radev expresses the will of millions of Bulgarians and as their voice he wants only one thing - a referendum.
Nearly 80% of people want to be asked, not treated as a “herd“, as a showman imposed by the casino media called them.
- However, the Constitutional Court rejected as inadmissible President Rumen Radev's request regarding the referendum on the euro. Isn't this a defeat for the defenders of the lev?
- This is a defeat not of the lev, but of direct democracy. From this moment on, it doesn't matter whether you collected 500,000 signatures for a referendum, after the National Assembly annulled them, and the authorities convince us that we are simple and incompetent to speak out about the euro.
The arguments of the defenders of the lev are serious, and this was also seen from the position of the American economist Steve Hanke, and from publications in authoritative European publications, which are categorical that Bulgaria is not ready for the eurozone on January 1, 2026 year!
- Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov met with representatives of the unions who also support the euro. What is the role of the unions in general in this topic...
- Sociology shows that almost all union members want a referendum, but
The Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions and the Confederation of Bulgarian Trade Unions “Podkrepa“ have betrayed the people to labor and succumbed to power and capital.
The scene in which Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov signs a memorandum of cooperation with unions, employers and branch organizations on the adoption of the euro is a shameful page in union history. This is not dialogue, but capitulation. The unions are denying their role as labor advocates and are in bed with power and capital. Instead of defending the referendum on the euro, they are signing a government memorandum for the forceful imposition of the euro. Instead of being on the streets with flags and with a demand for a popular vote, they are in line for a photo with the prime minister.
- Isn't it strange that the unions don't want to hear the voice of the people?
- No, it's not strange. It's shameful!
- If everything develops normally, on January 1, 2026 we will have to pay in euros. Will 6 months be enough for us to adjust to the euro both as citizens and as businesses?
- We will have to adjust to higher inflation, to the rising prices of electricity, heating and water, to price terror by traders and bankers, as happened on January 1, 2023 in Croatia...
- The cabinet claims that it will not allow speculation in prices. Can prices really be influenced in a market economy, when each trader alone determines the price?
- In a capitalist economy, the government cannot permanently influence the pricing policy of private business.
It will try to limit the unjustified increase in prices after the adoption of the euro, but it cannot completely prevent it.
A temporary freeze on the prices of some goods and services is a possible measure, and under strong public pressure, the freeze can be applied to basic food products, as is the case in Croatia, Greece and France. In the Bulgarian case, a good solution is the “Anti-speculation” law proposed by Maya Manolova. The law provides for a ceiling on mark-ups on basic goods and services such as food, medicines and fuel. This means that traders will be obliged to sell these goods at prices that do not exceed a certain percentage above their cost price.
But will the National Assembly accept it? And will traders comply with the law if the deputies vote for it?
This is exactly what happened in Croatia - two years after the introduction of the euro, food prices increased dramatically, which provoked a boycott of retail chains that began in February this year. Two years after the “funeral“ of the Croatian kuna, Croatians realized that the euro is not “golden rain“.
- Why did the EU decide to accept us into the eurozone right now, after there were years when we were much better off economically…
- Because of the war in Ukraine, because of the confrontation of the West with Russia, because of our role as the EU's external border, because of the inflationary crisis in Europe – These are the four fundamental reasons for the decision of the European Commission and the European Central Bank to recognize Bulgaria as a desirable member of the “Club of the Rich“. And what the “poor” of the EU will get from this club, this is a secondary issue for Brussels. And let's not forget something quite worrying - the EU is seeking to strengthen internal integration also because of the chronic problems of the banks in Italy, Spain and Portugal...
- The opposition – in the face of the PP, will introduce a vote of no confidence, since we are already certain about the eurozone. How does this move look in the eyes of the EU?
- I am not so sure that our entry into the eurozone on January 1, 2026 is 100 percent certain.
If the mass protests against the euro continue, this will be an alarm signal for the ECB and the EC.
If hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets, Ursula von der Leyen may renege on her promise to get us into the Eurozone with falsified data, as we heard from an undisclosed phone conversation three years ago. If Rumen Radev contacts the European Commission and presents the above alarming facts, will they in Brussels want the Eurozone to be blown up by poor Bulgaria according to the “Greek scenario”?