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Bulgaria says it is back on track to join the Eurozone in 2026, after repeated delays because of political turmoil and failing to meet inflation targets.
Sofia’s adoption of the euro was postponed last year when inflation exceeded the threshold required for membership. Now that inflation has slowed to 3.5 per cent in April, Bulgaria expects the European Commission to confirm next week that the country has met the criteria required to join the euro.
“We expect a positive convergence report,” said Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov last week.
All new EU members who have not yet adopted the single currency have to show that they have converged with other European economies in order to join the Eurozone. They must show that inflation is under control and within 1.5 percentage points of the three Eurozone states that have the lowest inflation, and meet other benchmarks including on the stability of their currencies and economy.
The European Commission said on Tuesday that it was concluding its assessment of Bulgaria’s convergence and it intended to adopt its report in early June.
While Bulgaria did contain inflation at low levels for many years, it shot up in 2021 when Russia severed gas links to the country, and then in 2022 when Moscow invaded Ukraine. Sofia managed to bring inflation down close to the EU target of 3 per cent only early last year.
Bulgaria’s accession has also been delayed by a series of caretaker and shortlived governments. It has had seven elections in less than four years since the administration of centre-right premier Boyko Borisov was ousted amid protests against endemic graft.
Zhelyazkov has sought to reassure Bulgarians that Eurozone membership will not affect their lev-denominated savings. The Bulgarian president and several ultranationalist parties are openly critical of the single currency and have stoked fears of “price shocks” and citizens losing part of their savings.
“The state will guarantee the security of Bulgarian consumers even after the introduction of the euro,” Zhelyazkov said. “This includes legal changes on euro adoption so Bulgarians can rest assured about their savings.”
President Rumen Radev has accused other Bulgarian authorities of negligence and weakness in their preparations. ‘‘I don’t see any readiness in the institutions to counteract possible price shocks in case of need,” he said on Monday.
Earlier examples of euro accession show that price increases do happen but can be contained. Croatia’s inflation rate has stayed between 3 and 4 per cent since early 2024, steadying after the country joined the single currency in 2023.
First tied to the Deutschemark in 1997, the Bulgarian lev was then pegged to the euro in 1999, in an effort to avoid inflation in the turbulent post-communist economy.
Bulgaria would become the 21st member of the Eurozone, but only the second country after Croatia to join the euro in the past decade.
