Constitutional Court Rejects Request for Unconstitutionality of Parliament's Decision on the Euro Referendum

The Constitutional Court has dismissed a request from Members of Parliament to declare unconstitutional the Parliament’s decision not to act on a proposal to hold a national referendum on the introduction of the euro.

According to the court’s website, the request was submitted by 51 MPs from the 51st National Assembly. They sought a ruling on the constitutionality of the Assembly’s decision not to take action on the proposal submitted by the President on 12 May 2025, which asked: “Do you agree that Bulgaria should adopt the single European currency, the euro, in 2026?” The MPs also requested the court to rule on the compatibility of the referendum question itself with the Constitution, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and the Law on Direct Participation of Citizens in State and Local Government.

All constitutional judges participated in the sittting, and the ruling was adopted unanimously. Judges Yanaki Stoilov and Sasho Penov signed a statement accompanying the decision.

The court’s reasoning notes that the Assembly’s decision constitutes a refusal to adopt a resolution to hold a national referendum, and that in this case, any ruling on the question itself would not produce legal effects. One possible response (Bulgaria does not adopt the euro in 2026) cannot alter a decision that is not made unilaterally by Bulgaria, while the legal consequences of the alternative (Bulgaria adopts the euro in 2026) have already occurred.

For the same reasons, a decision by the Assembly to hold a referendum on the proposed question would likewise be incapable of producing the intended legal effect, namely determining whether the euro should be adopted in 2026.

The court concluded that no constitutional dispute exists that could be examined by the Constitutional Court, rendering the request in this part inadmissible.

Regarding the second part of the request, the court clarified that a request to rule separately on the constitutionality of the referendum question itself cannot be considered independently of the Assembly’s decision on the proposal. The court emphasised that separate examination of this issue is without basis.

For these reasons, the Constitutional Court ruled that the request should not be admitted for substantive consideration.