Bulgaria’s Constitutional Court said on June 10 it has rejected a request by President Rumen Radev to annul the parliament’s decision declining his request for referendum on euro adoption.

Sofia recently got the green light from the European Central Bank and the European Commission to join the eurozone as of January 1, 2026. The final decision is to be taken by the Council of the EU in July.

In May, Radev asked parliament to call a referendum on the timing of Bulgaria's euro adoption, which was rejected by parliament speaker Natalia Kiselova. At the time, she said that the Constitutional Court has already ruled that such a referendum would violate the constitution.

The court ruled it would not even debate Radev’s requests, admitting only one of them – to decide whether the parliament speaker was entitled to unilaterally refuse to include the president’s request on parliament's agenda. 

The ECB and European Commission said in their extraordinary convergence reports released on June 4 that Bulgaria has met all criteria and can switch to the euro in January 2026. 

The decision came as no surprise as the country met all nominal criteria in January this year and also got a regular government at the end of last year, which was a prerequisite for the positive opinions from the ECB and EC. In February, the country asked for extraordinary convergence reports, which were released on June 4.

However, euro adoption faces fierce opposition within Bulgaria. Supporters of the far-right pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party gathered in front of the parliament building on June 4 to protest against euro adoption, claiming the country will lose its independence.

Vazrazhdane and other pro-Russian formations have been increasingly active over the past few months, claiming in posters across the country that the battle for the Bulgarian lev is “the last battle for Bulgaria” and that the country is losing its sovereignty.

Meanwhile, recent polls show Bulgarians remain deeply divided over the adoption of the euro. Many fear that the switch to the European currency will make them poorer and that prices of goods will jump.