Enlargement of the eurozone

Bulgaria can not expect that by replacing the lev with the euro this will automatically lead to higher growth for the economy. In order to reach it, additional efforts have to be made by the state. The main expected benefit may be the lower cost of doing foreign transactions, which can save the country several million euros a year.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković says the country's strategic goal is to meet the criteria by the end of the next government's term and adopt the euro as its official currency.

The low per-capita income on average represents the biggest issue regarding Romania's real convergence in view of joining the Eurozone (EZ), however, it's not a a formal criterion for euro accession, experts with the European Central Bank (ECB) believe.

The European Commission will release today the monitoring report on Bulgaria under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.

Bulgaria can adopt the euro by 2023. This is stated in a report by the rating agency Fitch.

The document recalls that the procedure began last year and a final decision on joining the ERM 2, also known as the euro waiting room, is expected by the end of this procedure.

Fitch Ratings said that it expects euro adoption in central and eastern European countries, including Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia, to have a positive impact on their sovereign creditworthiness, reports SeeNews. 

The European Commission lowered its estimates on July 10 for euro zone growth and inflation, saying uncertainty over U.S. trade policy posed a major risk to the bloc.

Eurozone finance ministers welcomed Croatia's application to join the currency union, BNT reported.

Yesterday Zagreb filed its official application for entry into the European Monetary Mechanism, known as the "eurozone waiting room". 

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.

The National Bank of Romania (BNR) has a balanced approach to the adoption of the euro, BNR governor Mugur Isarescu said on Tuesday, mentioning that this requires a high real convergence, as well as keeping the pace after Romania joins the eurozone.