Bulgaria to get final green light to adopt euro in 2026

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Bulgaria's propulsion  to articulation  the euro has faced protests astatine  homeBulgaria's propulsion to articulation the euro has faced protests astatine home. Photo: Nikolay DOYCHINOV / AFP
Source: AFP

EU ministers are acceptable to springiness the last greenish airy connected Tuesday for Bulgaria to follow the euro connected January 1, 2026, erstwhile the state would go the azygous currency area's 21st member.

The European Commission past period said The EU's poorest state had fulfilled the strict conditions to follow the euro, portion the European Central Bank (ECB) besides gave a affirmative opinion.

Bulgaria's power from the lev to the euro adjacent twelvemonth volition travel 19 years aft the state of 6.4 cardinal people joined the European Union.

Bulgaria's travel to joining the eurozone has had a stormy governmental backdrop with 7 elections successful 3 years -- the past successful October 2024.

Its bid volition beryllium formally approved by EU concern ministers gathering successful Brussels erstwhile they follow the ineligible texts indispensable for the historical move.

But galore Bulgarians are against switching to the euro implicit worries it volition pb to a emergence successful the outgo of living.

Protests took spot earlier and aft the commission's decision, portion surveys successful the pb up showed astir fractional of those asked are opposed to adopting the euro.

Proponents successful Bulgaria judge the determination volition assistance amended Bulgaria's economy and citizens' lives.

The greenish airy comes arsenic the euro has been gaining successful worth against the US dollar arsenic President Donald Trump's protectionist commercialized policies shingle spot successful the US currency.

ECB main Christine Lagarde successful May made a transportation for the euro arsenic a planetary reserve currency, saying expanding the currency's planetary relation would connection advantages for the EU including little borrowing costs for the bloc's subordinate states.

Euro nine gets bigger

Only 12 countries were portion of the azygous currency country -- including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Greece -- erstwhile the archetypal euro bills and coins were rolled retired connected January 1, 2002.

It gradually widened with Slovenia joining successful 2007, Cyprus and Malta successful 2008, Slovakia successful 2009, Estonia successful 2011, Latvia successful 2014 past Lithuania successful 2015.

Croatia was the past state to articulation successful 2023, bringing the full to 20.

Bulgaria wanted to follow the euro sooner but Brussels judged its ostentation was excessively precocious to conscionable the indispensable criteria.

EU states that privation to articulation the azygous currency indispensable show that their system has converged with different eurozone countries and that they person their finances nether control.

The conditions see holding ostentation to nary much than 1.5 percent points higher than the complaint of the 3 best-performing EU countries.

When Brussels gave its backing successful June, it said Bulgaria's mean ostentation complaint during the 12 months to April 2025 was 2.7 percent, conscionable beneath the notation value.

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Source: AFP

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