Eurogroup discusses Bulgaria’s progress towards euro zone accession

By the end of February 2025, Bulgaria will formally request the European Commission and the European Central Bank to prepare special convergence reports, Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova has told the Eurogroup.

A Finance Ministry statement after the February 17 meeting of the Eurogroup said that Petkova, who attended the meeting, said that given its prudent fiscal policy, Bulgaria had long deserved membership of the euro zone, “which is why we expect this to become a fact on January 1 2026”.

She said that the preliminary assessments “give us confidence that we will meet all the criteria for nominal convergence”.

This was why Bulgaria would request the convergence reports, the statement said.

“The Eurogroup countries confirmed their continued support for Bulgaria’s ambition to adopt the euro,” Bulgaria’s Finance Ministry said.

Eurogroup president Paschal Donohoe, speaking after the meeting, said: “We appreciate Bulgaria’s ongoing efforts and its commitment to economic stability and convergence with the euro area.

“We continue to monitor its progress towards the objective of joining the euro area,” Donohoe said.

Once Bulgaria considers it is ready to submit a request for ad hoc convergence reports to the Commission and the ECB, it will be for the institutions to assess whether all the criteria to guarantee a successful integration into the euro area are fulfilled, he said.

“In the meantime, the Eurogroup is supportive of Bulgaria’s ambition on its path towards the introduction of the euro at the appropriate time.”

European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis told Bulgarian National Television that January 1 2026 remains a realistic date for Bulgaria to join the euro zone.

“January 1 2026 is the goal that Bulgaria has set itself,” Dombrovskis said.

“It is important that all criteria are met – as far as inflation is concerned, things are moving in that direction, the data are relatively close to the reference values,” he said.

“As far as fiscal management is concerned, we expect the medium-term fiscal and structural plan in line with the new economic governance framework, as well as other aspects of the preparation.

“But I think that January 1 is a realistic goal also from the point of view of the European Commission. We are ready to provide support, but there is still work to be done,” Dombrovskis said.

(Photo: Council of the EU)

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