The European Commission is likely to give Bulgaria the green light on June 4 to adopt the euro currency from the start of 2026, several euro zone officials said, making Bulgaria the 21st country to join the single currency area.
The Commission will publish a "convergence report" next Wednesday on whether Bulgaria meets the criteria to adopt the euro, now used by 347 million Europeans in 20 countries.
Three senior euro zone officials said they expected the Commission report to be positive for Bulgaria, which has been striving to switch its lev currency to the euro ever since it joined the European Union in 2007.
Becoming a member of the euro zone, apart from using euro notes and coins, also means a seat at the European Central Bank's rate-setting Governing Council. The ECB will issue its own assessment on June 4 whether it thinks the country is ready, and if its central bank is independent.
It is the Commission's view that is decisive, however.
A positive recommendation from the EU executive arm would mean that EU finance ministers would endorse it and fix the conversion exchange rate for the Bulgarian lev into the euro in July, leaving the rest of the year for the country to technically prepare for the transition.
MEETING THE CRITERIA
For a positive recommendation, Bulgaria has to meet the inflation criterion, which says that the euro-candidate cannot have consumer inflation higher than 1.5 percentage points above the three best EU performers.
In April, the best performers were France with 0.9%, Cyprus with 1.4% and Denmark with 1.5%, which put Bulgaria with its 2.8% just within the limit.
The euro candidate country also cannot be under the EU's disciplinary budget procedure for running a deficit in excess of 3% of GDP. Bulgaria meets this criterion with a budget deficit of 3.0% in 2024 and 2.8% expected in 2025.
The country's public debt of 24.1% of GDP in 2024 and 25.1% expected in 2025 is well below the maximum level of 60%, and its long-term interest rate on bonds is well within the 2 percentage point margin above the rate at which the three best inflation performers borrow.
Finally, the euro candidate country has to prove it has a stable exchange rate by staying within a 15% margin on either side of a central parity rate in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II.
Bulgaria has been running a currency board that fixed the lev to the euro at 1.95583 since the start of the euro currency in 1999.
Bulgaria's euro adoption will come three years after the last euro zone expansion, when Croatia joined the single currency grouping at the start of 2023.
The Commission will also look at whether Bulgaria's economy and markets are integrated with the rest of the EU, as well as the trends in the country's balance of payments.
U.S. and Pakistani leaders forecast a Sunday signing of a long-elusive framework agreement to end fighting between the United States and Iran, as Reut...
Senior officials from Azerbaijan and Armenia held a working meeting in Dilijan, Armenia, on 14 June to discuss issues related to the peace agenda betw...
Tajikistan has strengthened its position as one of Central Asia’s fastest-growing economies. According to the European Bank for Reconstruction and D...
The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 to close out the series 4-1 and claim their first NBA championship since 1973, sparking celeb...
In the runup to the G7 summit, hosted by France in Évian-les-Bains on Monday, 15 June, China has addressed global economic balances in a videoconfer...
Bulgaria's newly appointed Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov has said the country will not provide additional military assistance to Ukraine and has called on Moscow and Kyiv to pursue a negotiated end to the conflict.
Eurovision Song Contest once again proved how unpredictable its outcome can be, with Bulgaria’s Dara turning a late surge into a dominant win while several expected contenders collapsed early. At the same time, the absence of the South Caucasus region from the final raised questions.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has held a series of high‑level meetings with world leaders and delegations on the sidelines of the World Urban Forum (WUF) in Baku, with discussions focusing on energy, economic cooperation and international partnerships.
Bulgaria has won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, taking victory in a final overshadowed by a boycott over Israel’s participation and the war in Gaza.
Pakistan has warned that any attempt by India to block or significantly reduce river flows under the Indus Waters Treaty could have “far-reaching consequences”, after India's water minister said New Delhi was working to ensure that “not a single drop” of water reaches Pakistan in the coming years.
Armenia has every right to choose Europe. But Europe’s support for Armenia’s direction should not become automatic approval of its political process.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said a peace agreement with Iran is scheduled to be signed on Sunday in a post on social media, despite Tehran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei saying no deal would be approved this weekend.
Japan’s birth rate and fertility levels have fallen to their lowest levels on record, highlighting the country’s worsening demographic crisis as fewer people marry and have children.
The global race to develop quantum computing is accelerating, with governments and technology firms investing heavily in what is expected to become a major new computing era.
At the start of 2026, something unusual happened in China's car market. BYD, the company that had spent years at the top of the domestic sales charts, was knocked off its perch by a rival.
Apple has unveiled a long-awaited upgrade to Siri, aiming to close the gap with technology rivals and emerging artificial intelligence firms in an increasingly competitive market.
ChatGPT maker OpenAI has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), the company said on Monday, joining rival Anthropic in a race to the stock market as investors seek exposure to the artificial intelligence boom.
Chinese carmakers are rapidly reshaping the global automotive market, with record exports, soaring electric vehicle sales and growing investments overseas putting pressure on established European, Japanese and U.S. rivals.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has begun its latest round of negotiations on creating the first binding global standards for platform-based work, covering services such as ride-hailing, food delivery and other app-based work.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment