Rosen Zhelyazkov: The euro offers more prospects than the currency board

The prospects opening up for the Bulgarian economy and society with the effective introduction of the euro are much greater than those we had and successfully achieved with the introduction of the currency board.

This opinion was expressed by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov during a meeting with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva.

We are currently on the eve of adopting the euro. A new page is about to be turned in the Bulgarian economy: greater confidence, more investment, more opportunities," Zhelyazkov added.

He pointed out that our country is currently in the final stage of the process of preparing for membership in the eurozone. “We are working hard on the remaining activities, with the aim of finalizing them as soon as possible,” Zhelyazkov noted.

On June 4, the European Commission (EC) and the European Central Bank (ECB) are set to publish their extraordinary convergence reports on Bulgaria's readiness to join the eurozone. The expectations for the assessment in the documents are positive, supported by Bulgaria's fulfillment earlier this year of the convergence criteria, including those for inflation and the budget deficit.

According to Zhelyazkov, almost all of Bulgaria's preparatory measures have been implemented, with funds also secured for technical preparation, ensuring that certain sectors, such as banking, are fully prepared for the adoption of the euro. “The intensive phase of the communication campaign for the euro is about to begin,” the prime minister added.

Membership in the eurozone is an excellent opportunity for Bulgaria,” Georgieva added.

According to her, the euro will bring greater investment attractiveness and greater security for Bulgaria within the eurozone.

During the meeting, the prime minister and the managing director of the IMF also discussed the risks to the global economy and financial stability. “The world we live in is full of challenges—we have low global growth and high debt,” Georgieva warned. According to her, the only way out of this situation is not to take on more debt, but to achieve higher growth, higher productivity, and better conditions for businesses to drive the economy forward.

This text was translated by DeepL