At a regular meeting on July 2, Bulgaria’s government adopted an update of the national plan for the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria, the government information service said.
The aim of the changes is to adapt the texts to the newly emerged circumstances and the progress in the technical preparations for the introduction of the euro, the statement said.
It said that the changes are related to the change in the indicative date for membership in the eurozone – January 1 2026, as well as the adjustment of the necessary time periods in relation to it.
The change is in accordance with the update adopted on 18 June 2025 on the establishment of a Coordination Council for Bulgaria’s preparation for membership of the euro zone and with the extraordinary convergence reports, in which the European Commission and the European Central Bank confirmed that Bulgaria meets all the criteria for joining the eurozone from January 1 next year.
The Eurogroup – an informal body made up of the finance ministers from the euro area member states – endorsed on June 19 a recommendation from euro area member states to the Council of the European Union, that Bulgaria becomes a member of the euro zone as of January 1.
The European Union’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council, Ecofin – made up of finance and economy ministers of all EU member states – agreed on June 20 to the next step towards Bulgaria adopting the euro as of the beginning of next year.
The European Parliament’s committee on economic and monetary affairs approved, by a large majority, on June 24 a draft report recommending approval of Bulgaria joining the euro zone.
The European Council has endorsed the European Commission’s proposal that Bulgaria adopts the euro on January 1 2026, according to the official conclusions of the June 26 meeting of EU leaders.
The next steps come on July 8, when the European Parliament will vote on the proposal, which will be followed the same day by a final decision by Ecofin on admitting Bulgaria to the euro zone at the beginning of 2026.
In the National Assembly on July 2, pro-Russian minority parties continued their campaign against euro adoption, with a draft resolution calling for a national referendum with the question “Do you agree that the Bulgarian lev should be the only official currency in Bulgaria until 2043?”.
While hours were spent on the debate, the day’s sitting came to an end without a vote. The National Assembly has twice before rejected holding a referendum on euro adoption.
Parliament rejected the same proposal by pro-Kremlin party Vuzrazhdane in a vote in July 2023, and again in September 2024.
In the July 2 debate, Speaker Natalia Kiselova (Bulgarian Socialist Party – United Left), a constitutional expert, addressed herself to Vuzrazhdane: “A national referendum is held on issues within the competence of the National Assembly. Parliament cannot rule on issues outside it. Stop lying to the people”.
Kiselova said that in 2009 the Direct Participation of Citizens in State Power and State Self-Government Act was adopted, which stipulates that there cannot be a referendum on issues within the competence of the Grand National Assembly, on those that relate to international treaties that have already been ratified.
“The Bulgarian state cannot afford to look ridiculous in the eyes of its partners. The Bulgarian people, through the representatives they chose to represent them, adopted this law in 2009,” she said.
Kiselova said that back in 2011, Bulgaria should have become part of the euro zone, but this did not happen for a number of reasons.
Regarding the referendums held in some countries on the adoption of the euro, Kiselova said that Sweden and Denmark had the right to decide whether to adopt the euro and when, because this was not part of their negotiating framework for EU accession, while for Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia it is part of the accession treaty.
“To claim that we do not want to have referendums is not correct. Issues outside the competence of the National Assembly simply cannot be put to a referendum by the people. The issue is not political, but legal,” she said.
In spite of the law pointed out by Kiselova and the Constitutional Court having ruled that a referendum on the euro would be unconstitutional, Vuzrazhdane continues to campaign for such as a referendum, as does head of state President Roumen Radev.
(Photo: government.bg)
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