(31 May 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sofia, Bulgaria – 31 May 2025
1. Stage with poster reading (Bulgarian) "The battle for the Bulgarian lev is the last battle for Bulgaria", as protesters gather
2. Wide of Nezavisimost Square as pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party leads anti-eurozone demonstration
3. Poster reading (Bulgarian) "We keep the Bulgarian lev – we gain the battle"
4. Man holds banner reading (Bulgarian) "We choose Bulgarian lev"
5. Demonstrators hold banner reading (English) "Referendum = Freedom"
6. Various of protesters shouting (Bulgarian) "Resignation"
7. Pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party leader Kostadin Kostadinov among protesters
8. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party:
"No force can defeat a united Bulgarian people. Today, Bulgaria has risen and declared: Freedom! We choose the Bulgarian lev, not the euro."
9. Various of protesters holding Bulgarian flags
10. Various of demonstrators walking through Sofia
11. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Simeon Slavchev, protester:
"Preserving the Bulgarian lev is a non-partisan cause – it is essential to our financial independence. If we lose the lev, we lose everything. That’s why we stand united with all Bulgarian citizens, regardless of political affiliation. This is a national cause."
12. Woman tries to shout slogans as she stands in front of posters reading (Bulgarian) "Preserve Bulgarian lev"
13. Protester holding Bulgarian and Russian flag
14. Protesters scuffle with police near EU Commission office
15. Police stand guard, holding shields
16. High angle view of blocked street as police keep protesters away from EU commission building
STORYLINE:
Thousands of flag-waving Bulgarians took to the streets of the capital Sofia and other major cities on Saturday to protest government plans to adopt the euro and to demand a referendum on the new currency.
The protesters, led by civic groups and nationalist parties, sang patriotic songs and shouted slogans like “Freedom for the Bulgarian lev” and “The future belongs to sovereign states.”
The anti-euro rally came four days before the Balkan country is expected to receive the green light from Brussels to enter the eurozone.
The demonstrators in Sofia carried flags of the pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party and a huge banner that read “The battle for the Bulgarian lev is the last battle for Bulgaria.”
An increased police presence kept the protest peaceful.
Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007 and remains one of its poorest members, plagued by years of instability that has fueled euroscepticism among its 6.4 million citizens.
Disinformation campaigns from home and abroad have added fears of economic changes that could bring more poverty.
President Rumen Radev encouraged the anti-euro voices by proposing earlier this month a referendum on the currency, citing public concerns over inflation and purchasing power.
The proposal was turned down by the pro-European majority in parliament, which accused Radev of acting in favor of Moscow with his last-minute attempt to sabotage the euro adoption, aimed at deepening European integration amid growing geopolitical tensions.
AP video by Valentina Petrova
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