site.btaPresident Radev Is Politicizing Eurozone Issue for Personal Ambition, MEP Radan Kanev Says

Commenting on President Rumen Radev’s proposal to the National Assembly for a referendum on Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro, European People’s Party/Democratic Bulgaria MEP Radan Kanev said that Radev’s idea "aims to build political capital for his future political project". Speaking to reporters in Pernik, Kanev said: "By doing so, the President lowers himself to the role of a political leader candidate, which he is not".

The MEP added that Radev’s proposal is not accidental and deals a heavy blow to Bulgaria’s European integration, especially on a symbolic date such as May 9 – Europe Day.

"This proposal must be responded to calmly, because there are too many facts," Kanev emphasized. "The most important among those right now is that the President’s long-time legal advisor resigned as a result of this clearly unconstitutional proposal. His former economic advisor Atanas Pekanov, who is also a former deputy prime minister, distanced himself sharply on economic grounds. This shows that Mr. Radev is acting against the advice of competent professionals," he said.

Kanev also recalled that earlier on May 9, the head of State unjustifiably criticized the EU for its unified support for Ukraine in its struggle for independence.

He underscored that "Bulgaria signed the EU accession treaty with a clause obligating entry into the eurozone and the so-called 'waiting room'. It is worth reading the Constitutional Court’s rulings, which correctly interpret EU law: after entering 'the waiting room', it is no longer the state that sets the eurozone accession date – it depends on our readiness."

Kanev reminded that in 1997, Bulgaria had already engaged in a crucial debate - whether the Bulgarian lev should be pegged to the US dollar or to the Deutsche mark.

"There was no viable alternative for the lev after the 1996–1997 hyperinflation. The decision to peg the lev to the Deutsche mark was a reasoned political move taken clearly by then-prime minister Ivan Kostov. We did this because we wanted to be part of the EU and move from a currency board into the eurozone. What we are doing today is fulfilling a nearly 30-year-old goal, from which no Bulgarian government has ever deviated," Kanev concluded.