Thousands took to the streets in Bulgaria this weekend to express opposition to the planned adoption of the euro, with protests held in Sofia and across other major cities including Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Veliko Tarnovo, and Blagoevgrad.

In Sofia, demonstrators gathered in front of the Bulgarian National Bank, waving national flags and banners reading “We want to preserve the lev” and “The future belongs to sovereign states.” Many also carried flags of the political party “Revival,” whose leader Kostadin Kostadinov addressed the crowd. He declared that introducing the euro would amount to “enslavement” of the country, and reaffirmed his party’s demand for the national currency to be retained beyond January 1.

The protest march passed peacefully through the center of the capital, moving from the BNB building along key boulevards to the Representation of the European Commission. Police maintained a visible presence, forming a tight cordon that kept protesters at a 50-meter distance from the EC building. Traffic on Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard was temporarily suspended to accommodate the procession.

According to organizers - both a civic committee and the “Revival” party - the demonstrations were not limited to Sofia, but were part of a coordinated nationwide action.

In Burgas, dozens participated in a car rally, with vehicles draped in Bulgarian flags moving from the city toward the Trakia highway. Protesters voiced frustration not only over the euro, but over what they described as a lack of public consultation on critical national decisions.

“We’re here to defend our freedom,” said Dian Lambov from Nessebar, one of the speakers at the rally. “It’s not just about the euro. It’s about the right to say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Everything is being pushed through forcefully and without transparency.”

Another protester expressed concern that giving up the lev would erode national sovereignty. “Without our own currency, our own rules, our own economy - what kind of country are we? We’ll just be another province under the European Central Bank,” he said, warning that Bulgaria would lose the ability to support its pensioners and vulnerable citizens.

The demonstrators are calling for a national referendum on the euro. They argue that proceeding with the currency change without the direct consent of the people represents a serious democratic deficit. The protests follow recent reports from the European Commission and the European Central Bank, which found Bulgaria meets the technical criteria to join the eurozone in January 2026.