Joining euro zone remains among Bulgaria’s priorities, Foreign Minister tells EU ambassadors

Meeting ambassadors of other European Union countries in Sofia on February 11, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev outlined the country’s foreign policy priorities, saying that joining the euro zone remained one of them.

The Bulgarian institutions are working intensively and are making good progress in all work areas to achieve this goal, Georgiev said, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry.

Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova told Parliament on January 31 that Bulgaria would request a convergence report (from the European Central Bank and European Commission) as soon as the country met the criteria for euro zone accession.

ECD President Christine Lagarde said on January 30 that the process of Bulgaria’s integration into the euro zone was “progressing well and moving forward,” Bulgarian news agency BTA reported.

The ECB’s involvement in this process is limited, as its role is only to assess Bulgaria’s alignment with inflation, fiscal position, and sustainability. The decision to join the euro zone will be made by the European Commission, Lagarde said.

Georgiev also emphasised the progress Bulgaria was making in the process of joining the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Foreign Ministry statement said.

“Our desire is to complete the technical phase of the process by the end of 2025 or early 2026,” he said.

The meeting was organized by the embassy of Poland, in Poland’s capacity as the rotating president of the Council of the EU.

During the conversation, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister emphasized unity within the EU, which, in his words, is more important than ever in the context of the changing geopolitical environment and external threats.

Georgiev said that Bulgaria would work closely with the new US administration to address pressing global challenges together.

Deepening the strategic partnership between the US and Bulgaria should be a top priority for our new governments, Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov said during a brief meeting with US Vice President JD Vance, Bulgarian National Radio reported on February 11.

The two spoke on the sidelines of the Artificial Intelligence Summit in Paris.

(Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

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