SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Days before Bulgaria was expected to become the 21st member of the eurozone, opponents of the move geared up Saturday for a final battle to change the schedule.
Thousands of protesters gathered on a central square in downtown Sofia to protest government plans to adopt the euro and to demand a referendum on the new currency. The European Union has given the green light for Bulgaria to adopt the euro starting Jan. 1.
The protesters, led by civic groups, nationalist and pro-Russian parties known for their opposition to the euro, declared that after the rally they intended to set up a tent camp on the central square, dubbed “Town of the lev,” after the name of the national currency.
On a platform for speakers hung a huge banner that read “The battle for the Bulgarian lev is the last battle for Bulgaria.”
The leader of the pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party Kostadin Kostadinov told the protesters that the country will be stripped of its currency.