Bulgarian nationalists protest over government plans to adopt euro currency
Thousands of Bulgarians have taken to the streets of the capital Sofia and other major cities to protest against 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.
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'.
A protester holding a Russian flag (Valentina Petrova/AP)
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 which has fuelled 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 him of acting in favour of Moscow with his last-minute attempt to sabotage the euro adoption, which is aimed at deepening European integration amid growing geopolitical tensions.
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