site.btaVazrazhdane Hosts Conference on Preserving the Bulgarian Lev

A conference organized by the Vazrazhdane party to preserve the Bulgarian lev was held on Friday. The event was  attended by economists, financiers, public figures and Vazrazhdane MPs, the party press centre said on Friday. A special guest at the conference was Steve Hanke, professor of applied economics and founder of the Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise Research at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Professor Hanke is known as the "father of Bulgaria's currency board".

Vazrazdhane leader Kostadin Kostadinov opened the conference, who stated that Bulgaria's financial independence is under threat. Kostadinov said that upon adopting the euro, Bulgaria’s budget will be subject to approval by the European Central Bank, which eliminates the country's sovereignty, said, calling on Bulgarians to take part in supporting the Bulgarian lev on Saturday.

Vazrazhdane MEP Stanislav Stoyanov, head of the Europe of the Sovereign Nations party, said that from a moral point of view, the most democratic act is the right of the Bulgarian people to be heard, through a referendum, and that  Europe of the Sovereign Nations  fully supports the actions of Vazrazhdane. He added that  there are trends in Europe to protect national currencies, historical examples of successful economic independence by preserving the national currency and that Bulgaria can learn from other European countries that refuse the euro. 

At the end of the forum, a declaration was signed, insisting on preserving the Bulgarian lev as the national currency and holding a referendum on the issue.