Enlargement of the eurozone

Croatia plans to replace its national currency, the kuna, with the euro from January 1 next year

Even if Bulgaria's membership in the Eurozone is not approved, this does not mean that any sovereignty of the real monetary policy of the BNB will be preserved. An analysis by Krasen Stanchev, ClubZ.

"Sovereignty" is not linked to and is not "betrayed" by the introduction of the euro

Bulgaria meets three of the four economic convergence criteria needed to join the Eurozone.

This is stated in a report released yesterday by the European Commission.

The criteria that our country fulfills are for stable and sustainable public finances, stability of exchange rates and long-term interest rates.

A Sofia city tram carries an advertisement depicting the Euro currency and a map of the country, in January 2007, days after Bulgaria became a member of the EU. Photo: EPA/VASSIL DONEV

Romania has the highest percentage of respondents with a positive opinion about the introduction of the European single currency - 75 percent, found the latest Flash Eurobarometer survey released on Friday, which shows that the switch to the euro enjoys broad support in EU member states that have not yet adopted it.

 Boyko Borissov's outgoing government is preparing to leave a heavy legacy. Instead of the deficit of BGN 4.9 billion planned in the State Budget Act, at the end of 2021 the treasury will be in the red by nearly BGN 7 billion, or 5.6% of GDP.

 This is written in the Convergence Program of Bulgaria for the period 2021-2023.

Bulgaria's current and capital account showed a deficit of115.6 million euro in December 2020 against a deficit of 248.1 million euro in the same month of 2019, the central bank said Friday. The current and capital account had a surplus of 1,009.6 million euro (1.7 per cent of GDP) in January-December 2020, compared to a 2,739.1 million euro surplus (4.5 per cent of GDP) in 2019.

Romania's switching to the European single currency, the euro, is likely to be postponed until 2030 due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Dragos Cabat, a member on the CFA Society Romania board, said on Tuesday, noting that there should be a decision at the political level to attempt to try to enter at least the Eurozone antechamber and meet the Maastricht conditions again.

"We expect our country to join the eurozone in 2024. The main tasks of the Bulgarian Government on the way to achieving this goal are related to the fulfilment of the subsequent commitments under the Roadmap after the accession of the Bulgarian Lev to ERM II, as of July 10, 2020. 

The Association of Romania's Privately Managed Pensions (APAPR) has recently asked for the Eurobonds issued by Romania to be included in the European Central Bank's (ECB) procurement programme for euro area countries.