Eurozone Country Objects to Design of Bulgarian €2 Coin Dedicated to the National Alphabet

A eurozone member state has officially objected to the design of a proposed Bulgarian €2 commemorative coin dedicated to the Bulgarian alphabet.

According to a leaked document from the Council of the European Union, Bulgaria notified EU member states of the proposal on 20 May 2026. Although the country's name was redacted in the document, BNT has learned that the objection came from Greece.

The reported concern is that including the inscription “Bulgarian Alphabet” on the coin could encourage other countries that also use the Cyrillic script and may join the European Union in the future to refer to a “Macedonian”, “Ukrainian” or “Serbian” alphabet in a similar way.

In response to a question from BNT, the Bulgarian National Bank confirmed that the coin has been included in the Bank’s Coin Issuance Programme, although the approval procedure has not yet been completed.

Commenting on the issue, President Iliana Iotova said:

“Finally, dear colleagues, I would like to wish you courage and determination in defending Bulgaria’s national interest, especially in the latest case concerning a claim regarding one of our commemorative coins bearing the inscription ‘Bulgarian Alphabet’.

It seems to me that on this matter all of us should defend our right. This is how we have been raised, nurtured and educated — our Cyrillic alphabet is the Bulgarian alphabet.

I have already organised three consecutive international scientific forums dedicated to the Cyrillic alphabet. There is not a single scholar of global standing, regardless of their country or region of origin, who does not use the term ‘Bulgarian alphabet’, created at the end of the ninth and the beginning of the tenth century in the scriptoria of Preslav, the capital of our medieval state.”