The Administrative Court – Plovdiv has suspended the preliminary execution of the decision to hold a local referendum in the municipality of Karlovo regarding the construction of a gunpowder plant by the German company "Rheinmetall". This is clear from an announcement published on the court's website.
The referendum was scheduled for June 28, and in it, local residents were to answer three questions essentially directed against the realization of the investment. They were to state whether they agree that the municipality should NOT allow a change in the designation of properties for the needs of the plant, whether a production base for ammunition should NOT be built on the territory of the municipality, and whether a ban on such constructions should be introduced in the Karlovo municipality.
Two complaints were filed against the Municipal Council's decision to hold the poll – by the regional governor of Plovdiv and by the company "Iganovo" EAD, created specifically in connection with the investment intention for the gunpowder plant as a joint venture between "Rheinmetall" and the Bulgarian state.
Initially, the decision for the referendum was adopted by the Municipal Council in Karlovo with 27 votes "for", 2 "against", and 1 "abstention". However, the court has now determined that, pending a final ruling on the legality of this act, its preliminary execution should not be allowed.
According to the motives of the Administrative Court, the gathered evidence shows that there is a risk of significant and difficult-to-repair damages for the complainant – "Iganovo" EAD – if the decision for the referendum is implemented before the end of the legal dispute. The court clarifies that at this stage, it is not evaluating the legality of the act on its merits, but only checking whether there are prerequisites to prevent serious harm.
The court panel accepts that such prerequisites exist and that, until a final decision on the legality of the contested act, priority must be given to preventing possible significant and difficult-to-repair damages. The decision further notes that holding the referendum before the completion of judicial review would have difficult-to-reverse social consequences and would lead to the expenditure of significant public resources, which would prove to be wasted if the act were overturned or declared void.
The case was examined by judge Dani Kanazireva – a former Member of Parliament from GERB–SDS, who passed the competition for administrative judge and took office at the Administrative Court – Plovdiv in August 2025.
In her motives, Kanazireva points out that under the Law on Direct Participation of Citizens in State Power and Local Self-Government, the subject of a local referendum can only be issues of local importance that fall within the competence of local self-government bodies. In this case, however, the poll concerns activities and objects for which there are acts of the Council of Ministers and special regulations in the Law on Defense and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The decision of the Administrative Court – Plovdiv can be appealed within a 7-day period.
The investment intention for building two military plants of "Rheinmetall" in Bulgaria was announced in August 2025 by GERB–SDS leader Boyko Borisov, while at the same time, the current Prime Minister Rumen Radev, then in his capacity as President, was also holding meetings with the concern's management.
Bulgarian participation in the joint project for the gunpowder plant is estimated at about 500 million euros, which are expected to be provided through the European SAFE mechanism. The total investment amounts to nearly 1 billion euros. The contract for the construction of the plant jointly with VMZ–Sopot was signed at the Council of Ministers at the end of October 2025.
For the purposes of the project, the cabinet of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov created a new company with state participation in October 2025 – "Iganovo" EAD, with an initial capital of 50,000 BGN, and at the end of the year, over 82 million BGN were additionally injected into its capital.