EKIP– Expert Club for Economics and Politics A Different Opinion
DEAR LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PEOPLE'S REPRESENTATIVES,
In connection with the upcoming consideration of the petition to organize a referendum with the question "Do you agree that the Bulgarian lev should be the only official currency in Bulgaria until 2043?" in the parliamentary committee for civic participation, we express the following opinion on behalf of the Expert Club for Economics and Politics (ECOP).
According to Art. 10, para. 2 of the Direct Participation Act, the National Assembly is obliged to adopt a decision to hold a national referendum “when this is requested by an initiative committee with a petition containing the signatures of no less than 400,000 Bulgarian citizens with voting rights”. The petition to organize a referendum on the above-mentioned issue has already passed all institutional checks, including in the Civil Registration and Administrative Services, which have established that valid signatures and personal data of over 400,000 Bulgarian citizens are available.
Accordingly, according to the law, the parliament is obliged to schedule a referendum on the question "Do you agree that the Bulgarian lev should be the sole official currency in Bulgaria until 2043?". The EKIP calls on the parliamentary committee for direct citizen participation and interaction with civil society to immediately draft a draft decision to hold the relevant referendum, which should subsequently be voted on and approved in the plenary hall of the parliament within the period defined in the Direct Participation Act - by July 7, 2023.
Any attempts to delay this process and postpone or completely prevent the scheduling of this referendum would be in violation of the current laws and constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria and would lead to a catastrophic undermining of trust in the democratic principles on which the legitimacy of the Bulgarian state is based.
Until the referendum itself is held, we call for a complete cessation of any actions aimed at introducing another currency as the official one in Bulgaria. The intentions announced by the Minister of Finance, Assen Vassilev, to introduce the euro as a parallel official currency in the country are absolutely unacceptable in the context of an active campaign for a referendum on this very issue and the presence of over 400,000 valid signatures.
Holding a referendum on the future of the Bulgarian currency is of immense political and economic importance. The EKIP reiterates our firm and long-standing belief that eventual accession to the eurozone would be a huge mistake with grave negative consequences for the country's long-term economic development.
New fiscal risks would emerge, including through the loosening of domestic fiscal discipline and the currency peg to highly indebted countries such as Italy. The eurozone suffers from structural problems that create conditions for economic divergence between its constituent countries and stimulate excessive indebtedness. In addition, Bulgaria would also face an increased risk of inflation, both in the form of a short-term price shock immediately after the introduction of the new currency, and in the longer term, through the insufficient convergence of economic indicators in Bulgaria with those in the eurozone.
These and other risks arising from the potential adoption of the euro at this stage have been identified both in our analyses and in an analysis by experts from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), delivered to the members of parliament on 25.10.2022. For these and other reasons, the expert position of the ECT is against Bulgaria joining the eurozone at this stage, before reaching a sufficiently high degree of convergence and reforming the eurozone itself in order to eliminate its structural problems.
At the same time, however, we are obliged to respect the democratic process and the laws of the Republic of Bulgaria. That is why we believe that such a decision of monumental importance for the future of Bulgaria can be legitimately taken only after conducting a national referendum, in which every Bulgarian citizen can express his or her position specifically on this issue. For these reasons and in view of the fulfillment of all legal requirements, we call on the Bulgarian Parliament to immediately approve the organization of a referendum with the question "Do you agree that the Bulgarian lev should be the sole official currency in Bulgaria until 2043?"
WITH RESPECT,
GEORGI VULDZHEV
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
EXPERT CLUB FOR ECONOMY AND POLITICS
04.07.2023.
CITY OF SOFIA
