Banking Union

The Bulgarian candidature for eurozone membership will be discussed at a meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers. The point has entered the last minute on the agenda. It is envisaged that ministers will discuss Bulgaria's progress in relation to its desire to join the ERM II.

President Klaus Iohannis participated on Thursday and Friday in the meeting of the European Council in Brussels, context in which he presented the results of the Romanian Presidency at the EU Council and reconfirmed Romania's firm support for the Eastern Partnership.

President Klaus Iohannis said on Friday that the Romanian Presidency at the Council of the European Union concluded 90 legislative files, showing that most people expected Romania to be in between somewhere. "I don't know if it is good to speak about a legacy, you cannot create a legacy in six months, that's an illusion. But you can do a decent work in six months.

The ECB's assessment of six major banks working in the country has to show whether they can resist external as well as internal risks. Stress tests are already running and are due to the demand for Bulgaria to enter the Eurozone waiting room (ERM II mechanism) and the Banking Union, the 24-hour newspaper writes.

On March 20, 2019, the Executive Council of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) closed the Article IV consultation with Bulgaria. This is the final stage of the assessment of the economic situation of the state, which the IMF makes each year for each Member State of the Fund. The consultation ends with assessment and country-specific recommendations.

AGERPRES special correspondent Florentina Peia reports: President Klaus Iohannis attended, Thursday through Friday, the European Council meeting in Brussels, context in which he underlined the very important results achieved so far by the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Finance ministers of Eurozone countries and the European Central Bank, ECB, on Thursday welcomed Bulgaria's intention to "put in place the necessary elements for a successful entry into ERM 2" - the so-called "waiting room" for the Eurozone.

BRUSSELS, July 10 (Reuters) - Bulgaria has committed to strengthening its banking sector, European Union officials said on Tuesday, two days before a euro zone finance ministers' meeting that could shed light on the Balkan country's progress towards joining the euro.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov will present at the Eurogroup today the candidacy of Bulgaria for joining the Eurozone waiting room.

The meeting will discuss the work on the construction of the Economic and Monetary Union, and in particular the themes for the reform of the European stabilization mechanism and the next steps in the construction of the Banking Union.

At their last meeting under the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council, EU finance ministers finalised the work on three dossiers in the area of Value Added Tax (VAT), thus moving towards a more efficient VAT system at EU level.