A number of thousand supporters of Bulgaria’s ultra-nationalist Revival get together scuffled with police on Saturday whereas attempting to storm the constructing of a European Union mission throughout a protest towards the nation’s plans to undertake the euro subsequent yr.
The anti-government protesters, chanting “Resignation” and “No to the Euro”, threw pink paint, firecrackers and Molotov cocktails on the EU constructing within the capital Sofia, setting the entrance door on hearth earlier than the police pushed them away.
Round 10 cops sustained minor accidents and about six individuals had been detained, a senior police official informed media after the protest.
The federal government condemned the assault on the EU buildings, saying in a press release that such assaults “are unacceptable and contradict the rules of the rule of regulation”.
The protests started in entrance of the European Union nation’s central financial institution, with protesters setting effigies of European Central Financial institution President Christine Lagarde and different officers on hearth.
Some waved Bulgarian, Soviet Union or East German flags, whereas others carried placards studying “We don’t Need the Euro”.
“We don’t need Bulgarian monetary independence to be destroyed. We wish to maintain the Bulgarian lev,” Kostadin Kostadinov, the Revival get together chairman, informed media. “We’re right here to defend our freedom.”
Bulgaria’s new authorities, which was authorized final month after October’s snap election, the seventh in 4 years, has reaffirmed the nation’s dedication to becoming a member of the euro zone subsequent yr.
Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov has stated the 2025 state finances will set a deficit of about 3%, paving the way in which for the introduction of the euro on January 1, 2026.
Nevertheless, the nation nonetheless wants to fulfill an prolonged inflation goal earlier than an examination of the nation’s bid.
Bulgarians are divided over the introduction of the euro, with many worrying that it’s going to trigger costs to skyrocket, as occurred in Croatia in 2023.
Revival, which has accused the central financial institution and the nationwide statistics company of “fabricating knowledge” to allow the introduction of the euro, has known as for a large public debate on the financial results of its introduction.
Economists say that Bulgaria, the poorest EU state the place the lev has been lengthy pegged to the euro, would appeal to extra overseas funding if it adopted the one forex and safe credit score scores upgrades that might lower its debt financing prices.
