site.btaVazrazhdane to Submit Referendum Proposal against Euro Changeover on May 7

Vazrazhdane will submit a proposal for a national referendum for preserving the Bulgarian lev in the National Assembly on May 7, party leader Kostadin Kostadinov said Friday on the sidelines of Parliament. It will be the first Wednesday of the month and according to Parliament's rules of procedure, it is the only time parliamentary groups have the right to add items to the agenda without putting it to a vote.

Kostadinov noted that their referendum proposal was submitted over a month ago but has not yet been assigned to any parliamentary committee or scheduled for debate in plenary.

“During the vote in the plenary, it will once again become clear that this is a minority Government, as it is evident that the majority of the Bulgarian people are against the adoption of the common European currency," said Kostadinov, adding that he is not optimistic their proposal will be supported.

According to a Eurobarometer poll of December 2024, 46% of Bulgarians are "for" the adoption of the euro and as many are "against". A poll by the Myara agency found in January 2025 that 57.1% of Bulgarians are "against in principle" and 39% are "for in principle". 

Kostadinov also claimed that a state-funded campaign amounting to BGN 10 million is spreading "fake news" about the benefits of adopting the euro in Bulgaria. According to him, the transition is not a natural one but a forced measure.

He argued that Bulgaria will have a limited role in decision-making upon entering the eurozone, claiming that "out of every ten decisions, Bulgaria will take part in only four." According to Vazrazhdane, the assertions that prices won't go up and that the economy will grow after the euro changeover, are "lies".

Not the first euro referendum push

In April 2023, Vazrazhdane submitted to parliament a petition bearing some 600,000 signatures for holding a referendum on keeping the lev as Bulgaria's national currency until 2043. The National Assembly defeated the motion, and the MPs took the case to the Constitutional Court, which ruled that such referendum was unconstitutional. Both the majority in Parliament and the Constitutional Court argued that it was unlawful to submit to a referendum on matters regulated by international treaties concluded by Bulgaria (in this case the treaty on Bulgaria's accession to the EU).

While the Constitutional Court was in session and even before the decision was rendered, Vazrazhdane staged an unprecedented protest in front of the building. As part of the demonstration, protesters burnt an effigy of a Constitutional Court judge, setting on fire a car on which the effigy was placed.