Euro club to get bigger as Bulgaria due to join in 2026
European Union ministers greenlighted on Tuesday Bulgaria's bid to adopt the euro as of Jan. 1, 2026, making it the single currency area's 21st member following Croatia, which was the last to switch to the common currency in 2023.
Bulgaria's switch from the lev to the euro comes nearly 19 years after the country of 6.4 million people joined the EU.
'We did it!' Bulgarian Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov said.
'We thank all institutions, partners and everyone whose efforts made this landmark moment possible. The government remains committed to a smooth and effective transition to the euro in the interest of all citizens,' Jeliazkov said on X.
In adopting the legal texts necessary for the move, EU finance ministers officially set the euro at 1.95583 Bulgarian lev.
'Joining the euro area is much more than just about replacing the lev with the euro. It is about building a brighter and more prosperous future for Bulgaria and its citizens at the heart of Europe,' EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis said after the approval.
'The euro will bring new opportunities, investments, jobs and growth,' he said.
The European Commission last month said the EU's poorest country had fulfilled the strict conditions to adopt the euro, while the ECB also gave a positive opinion.
Bulgaria's journey to joining the eurozone has had a stormy political backdrop with seven elections in three years, the last in October 2024.
But recent polls show Bulgarian society remains divided on the euro, with experts attributing the scepticism largely to fears of rising prices and declining purchasing power.
President Rumen Radev shocked many when he proposed holding a referendum on the matter, but that was given short shrift by the Bulgarian parliament.
Since June, protesters have gathered in Sofia to call for 'keeping the Bulgarian lev.' A symbolic protest camp with several tents has been set up near the presidency and the Bulgarian National Bank in the capital.Far-right opposition parties have used the issue to promote anti-EU narratives.
Proponents in Bulgaria, however, insist the move will help improve the country's economy, and reinforce its ties to the West and protect against Russia's influence.
'The political benefits are becoming increasingly significant, as the protests against the euro seem to bear the mark of the Kremlin,' 43-year-old musician Veselin Dimitrov told AFP.
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