The National Assembly’s legal affairs committee rejected the proposal for a referendum to be held for keeping the Bulgarian Lev as the only official currency up until 2043. Even though the majority of the committee members voted against the initiative of the nationalist party Vazrazhdane, the document is still going to be discussed in plenary.

“A referendum of this kind will seriously undermine the progress Bulgaria has made on the way to the Eurozone,” said Bulgarian National Bank governor Dimitar Radev. Yavor Bozhankov from We Continue the Change/Democratic Bulgaria (PP/DB) stated that the referendum was anti-constitutional. Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov on his part said that the question complies with the requirements of the law and that 470,00 valid signatures had been collected under the petition for holding a referendum.

PP/DB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms voted against the holding of the referendum, Vazrazhdane, the Bulgarian Socialist Party and There Is such a People (ITN) voted for. GERB/SDS abstained.