Anti-euro protesters attack EU office in Bulgaria
Far-right opponents of Bulgaria's planned adoption of the euro have on Saturday attacked the European Union office in Sofia with Molotov cocktails. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen condemned the “outrageous scenes”.
According to an AFP journalist, demonstrators tried to storm the building housing the EU's official representation. A Molotov cocktail was thrown and the entrance door briefly caught fire. Windows on the first floor were smashed and the building was sprayed with red paint. Six people were arrested and ten police officers slightly injured as the crowd was dispersed with tear gas.
The pro-Russian far-right party Vazrazhdane, known as Revival in English, had organised a rally on Saturday of between 2,000 and 3,000 people opposing the introduction of the euro in the European Union member state. Effigies representing European officials, including the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde, were burnt.
The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen denounced on X the “outrageous scenes in Sofia where our EU office has been vandalised”. “In Europe, we exercise the right to demonstrate in a peaceful way,” she added. “Violence and vandalism are never the answer.”
“We strongly condemn the desecration of the building of the European Parliament and European Commission in Bulgaria,” the Bulgarian government commented on Facebook. “Attacks on institutions are unacceptable, especially when they come from supporters of a party that has representatives in the European Parliament.”
Bulgaria has been waiting for many years to join the euro zone, and its government has recently stepped up its efforts to meet the ECB's requirements, hoping to adopt the euro in 2026.
Demonstrators try to storm the building housing the EU's official representation in Bulgaria © BELGA PHOTO Nikolay DOYCHINOV / AFP
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