January 2026 is the more realistic date for Bulgaria’s admission to the Eurozone, Chintsia Alcidi from the Brussels Center for the Study of European Politics told Politico.
Experts and politicians with whom the publication spoke are convinced that the goal of adopting the euro on January 1 next year will not be met.
Russian-funded disinformation is among the reasons for the decrease in public support in Bulgaria for the adoption of the euro, the article claims. Our country will not enter the Eurozone from January next year, not only because of the political upheavals, but also because of constant inflation and the lack of public support.
Some Bulgarian political leaders, including the governor of the BNB, allow this to happen in mid-2025. At the same time, officials and experts involved in the technical aspects of accession say that entering in the middle of the year is atypical.
The European Central Bank’s next report on Bulgaria, which should determine whether it is ready, is expected before the summer, reports BNR.
For Bulgaria to join, it must not exceed the three best performing EU countries by more than 1.5 percentage points. According to Zholt Darvash from the Bruegel think tank, our country is otherwise in a good budgetary position.
According to him, the current inflation forecast of 2.9% in 2025 shows that the country could enter the Eurozone in 2026. However, Darvash adds that there is room for maneuver and the “grey zone” that allowed Croatia to join in 2023 could be used to shorten the deadline for Bulgaria. But this must be justified.
