Police in Bulgaria’s capital clashed with nationalist protesters Saturday who demanded that the government scrap plans to bring the country into the eurozone.
The protesters demanded that the government resign, while waving national and party flags and chanting “No to the euro” and “Yes to the Bulgarian lev," the country's currency.
On the one hand, there are some economists who claim that the country lacks an acceptable degree of economic condition to join the eurozone, and it's not ready yet to adopt the single currency.
About 1,000 protesters gathered in front of the Sofia office of the European Commission, which is the European Union's executive branch, and began throwing red paint and firecrackers at the building.
But the government, backed by other pro-European parties in parliament, stresses also the political importance of adoption as another step to deepen European integration amid growing geopolitical tensions.
