Bulgaria’s Cabinet wants to get euro law amended before Parliament’s summer recess
Bulgaria’s government wants to co-ordinate its efforts with the National Assembly so that amendments to the Euro Adoption Act are approved by Parliament before its summer recess, Prime Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov said on July 22.
Zhelyazkov was speaking at a meeting of the Mechanism for Coordination of Monitoring and Control in connection with the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria.
Following the completion of the approval process by the relevant European institutions, Bulgaria is to adopt the euro as its currency as of January 1 2026.
The amendments proposed by the Cabinet provide for additional measures against unjustified price increases, increased sanctions and increased control powers for the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC), the government information service said.
At the July 22 meeting, Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova highlighted the most important aspects of the changes to the law, the statement said.
She said that it was possible that the checks related to unjustified price increases could be for the period not only of dual circulation of the lev and the euro, but to cover the entire period of dual price indication – from August 8 2025 to December 31 2026 in the interest of even higher consumer protection.
It is proposed that the CPC be given additional powers related to this control.
Certain obligations are also introduced in the labelling of goods, so that consumers cannot be misled, the statement said.
In the interest of greater public awareness, traders with a turnover of over 10 million leva a year will be obliged to upload to their websites the prices of the goods they offer, which are included in the large consumer basket.
Based on this data, the CPC will develop a platform with summarised information.
The amendments propose a change to the sanctions, which should be a percentage of the turnover.
“The purpose of this proposal of ours is to have practical prevention regarding the desires of some unscrupulous traders to use the euro as a reason to unreasonably increase the prices of the goods and services they offer,” Petkova said.
She reported on a meeting held on July 22 on issues concerning the pharmaceutical sector.
Petkova said that the Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union will give special instructions regarding the introduction of the euro to all pharmacies in the country. At the same time, the software for the sector has been developed.
Petkova said that she is in the process of preparing the schedule for the events of the information campaign, which will start from the beginning of September throughout the country.
Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) deputy governor Radoslav Milenkov said that the minting of Bulgarian euro coins has already started.
“We are fully confident that the necessary quantities will be minted in the relevant time horizon,” Milenkov said.
The banknotes have already been provided in full and the logistics regarding their delivery on request from commercial banks are pending.
Regarding the Bulgarian Post Office, their representatives are to undergo certain training, which will be led by BNB experts. The plan is clear and is being implemented, Milenkov said.
(Photo: Sar Maroof/ Wikimedia Commons)
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