Bulgarian president proposes referendum on euro adoption

SOFIA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said on Friday that he is submitting to parliament a proposal to hold a national referendum on whether Bulgarians agree that their country should adopt the single European currency euro in 2026.

"As a full member of the European Union, Bulgaria is facing a strategic decision: the adoption of the single European currency," Radev said in an address to the public and the National Assembly.

According to the Bulgarian constitution, Radev has the authority to set the date for a national referendum, but only after the National Assembly adopts a resolution to hold one.

"Other EU member states have also held national referendums on adopting the euro," Radev noted.

Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007.

In mid-April this year, the country's Minister of Finance Temenuzhka Petkova said that Bulgaria had met all the criteria for euro area membership and was awaiting the drafting of reports by the European Commission and the European Central Bank.

"We hope the conclusions will be positive ... we have come a long way," Petkova said. ■