EU finance ministers have officially approved Bulgaria’s entry into the eurozone, setting 1 January 2026 as the date for adopting the euro, reports RTE.
“This marks the culmination of a thorough process towards Bulgaria’s accession, comprising rigorous analysis and intensive preparation,” said Stephanie Lose, economy minister for Denmark, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
Last month, the European Commission confirmed that the EU’s least wealthy member state had met the demanding requirements to adopt the euro, a position supported by the European Central Bank (ECB), reports RTE.
The planned transition from the lev to the euro in 2026 will come nearly two decades after Bulgaria, with a population of 6.4 million, became an EU member.
Bulgaria’s path to eurozone membership has been marked by political turbulence, including seven elections in just three years, the most recent of which occurred in October 2024, reports RTE.
Still, a significant number of Bulgarians are wary of the change, fearing it will lead to price increases and a higher cost of living.
Demonstrations took place both before and after the European Commission gave its approval, with polls showing nearly half of respondents were against adopting the common currency, reports RTE.
Supporters within Bulgaria argue that switching to the euro will provide economic benefits and enhance living standards.
The approval also comes at a time when the euro has been strengthening against the US dollar, as investor confidence in the American currency wavers due to President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade agenda, reports RTE.
In May, ECB president Christine Lagarde promoted the euro as a potential global reserve currency, noting that expanding its international role could benefit the EU by lowering borrowing costs for member countries.
The euro was first introduced on 1 January 2002 in 12 countries, including Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Greece, with physical notes and coins going into circulation, reports RTE.
The currency union expanded gradually with Slovenia joining in 2007, followed by Cyprus and Malta in 2008, Slovakia in 2009, Estonia in 2011, Latvia in 2014, and Lithuania in 2015.
Croatia was the most recent country to enter the eurozone, doing so in 2023 and bringing the number of members to 20.
Bulgaria had aimed to join the euro earlier, but the European Commission previously found that inflation levels were too high to meet entry conditions, reports RTE.
To qualify for the euro, countries must prove that their economies are aligned with other eurozone members and that they maintain sound fiscal policies.
One key requirement is keeping inflation within 1.5 percentage points of the average rate seen in the three top-performing EU economies.
In June, when the Commission endorsed Bulgaria’s application, it reported the country’s 12-month average inflation up to April 2025 at 2.7%, just under the threshold, reports RTE.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
