Bulgaria’s ruling coalition, as well as three of four opposition parties, on January 22 rejected changes to the central bank law that would require the central bank governor or deputy governor to resign from their post if they became a caretaker prime minister.

The new coalition has set the country’s accession to the eurozone by January 2026 as its key priority. However, the failure to adopt the changes could set back Bulgaria’s eurozone accession. 

The amendment would fix constitutional changes that define a list of public figures among whom the president can pick a caretaker premier. The list includes the central bank governor and deputy governors, but the regulations of the European Central Bank (ECB) prohibit central bank governors and their deputies participating in politics.

The changes were backed only by the pro-Western reformist Change Continues-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB).

After the parliament’s rejection of the amendment, CC-DB accused the new ruling coalition comprising Gerb, the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), Democracy, Rights and Freedoms (DPS-DPS) and There Are Such People (ITN), of sabotaging Bulgaria’s entry in the eurozone.

“Today we saw yet another sabotage on behalf of Gerb, BSP, DPS and There Are Such People to the eurozone,” CC-DB’s MP Martin Dimitrov said at press briefing after parliament’s voting.

He added that the texts rejected by the other parties have been agreed with the ECB and aim to guarantee the independence of the central bank.

Ivailo Mirchev of CC-DB added that the amendment of the central bank law is one of the requirements for Bulgaria to get a positive convergence report from the ECB and its rejection could lead to a negative assessment for the country.

“Our conclusion is that at the moment the entry in the eurozone is under threat although we already meet the requirements. We have no explanation why Gerb did that,” Mirchev said during the press briefing.

Dimitrov added that no party from the ruling coalition has provided any explanation of why it does not support the amendments that are directly related to the country’s eurozone entry. He said it was a mistake since Bulgaria intends to request an extraordinary convergence report and hopes to get a green light for eurozone accession.