Bulgarian Parliament Speaker Rejects President's Euro Referendum Proposal

The Speaker of the Bulgarian National Assembly, Nataliya Kiselova, rejected President Rumen Radev's proposal to hold a referendum on Bulgaria's adoption of the euro in 2026, citing constitutional and legal inconsistencies. The proposal was found to conflict with several articles of the Bulgarian Constitution, EU treaties, and prior rulings by the Constitutional Court, which has previously dismissed referendum petitions on euro adoption. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyakov and other government officials also criticized the referendum proposal as unconstitutional and urged the President to reconsider, emphasizing that Bulgaria has already ratified commitments to join the Economic and Monetary Union. Bulgaria is on track to adopt the euro by January 2026, pending positive convergence reports from the European Commission and European Central Bank. Despite meeting the technical criteria for eurozone membership, public opinion in Bulgaria remains divided, with concerns about potential price increases similar to those experienced in Croatia after switching to the euro. Government officials maintain that the country is confidently progressing toward euro adoption, viewing the referendum proposal as an attempt to divert from this strategic priority.