Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has sharply criticized the National Assembly for failing to act on his proposal to hold a referendum on adopting the euro. He hailed a recent Constitutional Court ruling on the matter as “a victory of law over political arbitrariness” and urged MPs to finally bring his request to a vote.
Radev condemned Kostadin Angelov, who chaired the parliamentary session, for refusing to submit a motion from the “Revival” party to vote on the president’s May 12 referendum proposal. Angelov argued the proposal was inadmissible because it had been returned to the presidential administration the following day.
The president countered that he had originally submitted the request on May 9 and emphasized the strategic importance of Bulgaria’s decision on euro adoption. He noted that Bulgarian society lacks consensus on both the country’s readiness for the eurozone and the appropriate timeline for joining.
According to Radev, the Constitutional Court clarified that the Speaker of Parliament has no authority to block proposals from constitutionally empowered institutions. He described the Assembly’s handling of his referendum request as a “farce” and another breach of the law.
Radev stressed that his documents are still in Parliament and can be considered at any time. He called on MPs to retrieve the proposal, present it in plenary, debate it, and vote—warning that the law requires Parliament to adopt a formal decision. Instead of fulfilling its legislative duties, he argued, the current Assembly fuels “lawlessness and political scandal.”
