EC and ECB back Bulgaria for eurozone, but no date set

The European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) have expressed their "full support for Bulgaria's accession to the euro area". This is according to a statement by the Finance Ministry after a meeting of Assen Vassilev with Eurogroup President Pascal Donahue, European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni and European Central Bank Executive Board Member Piero Cipollone.

However, the press release does not specify whether the above-mentioned representatives of the European institutions support Bulgaria in its wish to join the euro area on 1 January 2025, or simply support it in principle.

To become a member of the currency union, Bulgaria must meet a number of technical criteria, but it also needs political support - from both Brussels and the ECB.

Technically, the country does not yet meet the inflation criterion, which is among the highest in the European Union.

However, finance ministry officials believe that the European authorities will make a compromise for Bulgaria and admit it to the monetary union, albeit with higher inflation.

At the Eurogroup meeting in December, Bulgaria will present a progress report on its euro adoption. In April or May next year, Bulgaria will also take note of the European Central Bank's convergence report on the country, which is one of the main instruments for deciding on the enlargement of the euro area.

Minister Vassilev also met his Belgian counterpart Vincent Van Peteghem, who will chair the ECOFIN Council in the first half of 2024.

This article was translated with the support of DeepL.