The European finance ministers have given the green light for Bulgaria to join the eurozone. From 1 January 2026, Bulgarians will no longer pay with the lev, but with the euro.
On Tuesday in Brussels, the ministers endorsed three legal texts sealing Bulgaria's accession to the eurozone. Among other things, these texts set the final exchange rate at 1.95 levs to €1.
"This is a historic day for Bulgaria," said Bulgarian Minister Temenuzhka Petkova. "We are on the verge of achieving an essential goal for our country."
In Bulgaria, however, support for the euro is far from unanimous. In recent polls, almost half of those surveyed opposed its introduction. In recent weeks, thousands of people have also demonstrated in Sofia against the euro, mainly because of fears of rising prices.
Supporters in the Eastern European country, on the other hand, see the introduction of the euro as an important step towards Bulgaria's geopolitical anchoring in the Western world and protection against Russian influence.
In June, the European Commission had already ruled that Bulgaria had met all the accession criteria, including price stability and public finances. It is confident that citizens and businesses will benefit from the elimination of exchange costs, easier cross-border payments and greater access to finance.
The Commission also puts into perspective the likelihood of prices skyrocketing. It points out that prices rose by an average of 0.1 to 0.3% in previous eurozone accessions. In the longer term, the Commission believes that the euro will offer greater price stability.
There is also broad support for Bulgaria's accession in the European Parliament. In a vote on Tuesday in Strasbourg, 531 MEPs backed a report confirming that the country meets all the criteria. 69 members voted against and 79 abstained.
With Bulgaria, the eurozone will comprise 21 of the 27 Member States of the European Union. Only Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Sweden and Denmark are not yet members.
In principle, all member states are obliged to join the monetary union sooner or later, with the exception of Denmark, which negotiated an opt-out in 2000.
