Bulgaria meets the inflation criterion for the euro for the third consecutive month

Bulgaria met the inflation criterion for joining the eurozone in April, according to data from the European statistical service Eurostat. This is important because it shows that our country is managing to maintain a consistently low inflation, a trend that is being closely monitored by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission (EC).

In about two weeks, the two European institutions are expected to publish their special reports on Bulgaria's readiness to adopt the euro, which will undoubtedly reflect the price stability criterion. In recent months, this has been the last obstacle to Bulgaria's nominal compliance for joining the eurozone.

Last week, Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov expressed optimism about the convergence report expected from Brussels on June 4.

On Friday afternoon, GERB MEP Emil Radev said on Nova TV that he had information from Brussels that Bulgaria's convergence report on the adoption of the euro was positive.

It will be presented in a few days. It is positive, we have met the requirements," he commented.

According to data from April 2025, the average annual inflation rate in Bulgaria is 2.7%. The average level of the three member states with the lowest inflation is 1.3%. According to the accession rules, the indicator in Bulgaria cannot exceed this level by more than 1.5 percentage points. In this case, it is 2.8%.

In April, as in previous months, the three member states with the lowest inflation were Ireland (1.2%), Finland (1.3%) and Italy (1.4%).

Finland excluded from the calculations

Usually, if there is a slight deviation from the target level, the EC and the ECB may exclude from the calculations certain countries with very low inflation due to “exceptional factors.”

In this case, if Finland is excluded and Denmark is included instead, with an average annual inflation rate of 1.6%, the new threshold becomes 2.9%, meaning that Bulgaria once again meets the criterion.

This text was translated by DeepL Translator.