After President's Proposal for Euro Referendum Was Rejected - Political Reactions in Parliament

The Bulgarian Parliament convened for its first sitting of the week amid continued political fallout over the proposal for a referendum on euro adoption. Following yesterday’s decision by National Assembly Speaker Nataliya Kiselova to return the referendum proposal to the President, political commentary on the topic continue today, May 14.

Boyko Borissov (GERB leader) stated:
"As far as I know, Chairwoman Kiselova is a professor of constitutional law. If she doesn't know what she’s signing, it’s unlikely Rumen Radev, who is a pilot, knows what constitutes a breach of the Constitution. I won’t comment on Radev or his evaluations. The fact is, at the last moment, he decided to sabotage Bulgaria’s eurozone entry. No one is outright against the eurozone, they just keep proposing random dates—2027, 2036, 2044, 2052—essentially misleading their voters. He’s simply bitter that the government and the National Assembly managed to meet the criteria. Now the only way to block our eurozone entry is to showcase internal instability, which he has just done."

Kiril Petkov (WCC-DB co-chair) added:
"To call for a referendum just weeks before the convergence report was clearly deemed unconstitutional by legal scholars. Fifty professors from Sofia University, the President’s own legal adviser Krum Zarkov, and NA Speaker Kiselova all stated it’s unconstitutional. We’re a rule-of-law state—laws must be respected."

Kostadin Kostadinov (the leader of "Vazrazhdane") responded to a BNT question about collecting 80 signatures for Kiselova’s resignation:

"That depends on WCC-DB. We don’t think they’ll support it. They’re the fifth wheel in this government. Democracy was trampled in Parliament. We’re even considering filing a report to the State Agency for National Security (SANS) to investigate whether there’s an attack against the Bulgarian lev."

Delyan Peevski (MRF – New Beginning) commented:
"It’s clear the referendum won’t happen. Now, the most important thing—Mr. Borissov is right—is that the powers of the Commission on Protection of Competition (CPC) and the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) should be expanded to ensure absolute control over food prices and essential goods, because if a problem can come from somewhere it is from there. I call for increased staffing (in the two commisions) and stricter oversight."

"- BNT: The President accused the new majority of trampling on the Constitution and using Kiselova.

"I have no desire to comment. He’s an irrelevant figure. I expect Prime Minister Zhelyazkov to deliver a four-year programme that will pull Bulgaria out of the damage done by the President’s caretaker governments," Peevski said.

Pavela Miteva of There Is Such a People stated:
"We supported the referendum initiative, but we made it clear that at the referendum itself, we will defend our position: that Bulgaria should join the eurozone only if it meets all the necessary criteria. That is the correct path for our country."

Radostin Vassilev, Morality, Unity, Honour (MECh) party leader:
"We at MECh firmly believe Parliament's Speaker Nataliya Kiselova must step down. As far as I understand, ‘Vazrazhdane’ shares that view. ‘Velichie’ did until yesterday—things there depend on how the god Tangra shines—but WCC-DB will keep this government afloat. Radev boxed them in hard with this move."

Yuliana Mateeva of Velichie party said:
"Nataliya Kiselova is blatantly violating the Constitution under someone else's influence. 'Velichie' will insist that the voice of the people be heard."