‘All euro area Member States unanimously supported Bulgaria’s membership as of 1 January 2026. All of them unanimously confirmed that our country mets all euro area membership criteria. Today is a very good day for our country.’ This is what the Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said immediately after the Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg at a joint briefing with the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank Dimitar Radev. They took part in the meeting of the euro area ministers who discussed the convergence reports of the European Commission and the ECB assessing Bulgaria’s progress on the way to the changeover.
‘Our country is on track to achieve a strategic goal. This is a dream of generations of Bulgarian citizens and I am truly happy that we can be part of this process. We expect economic and financial stability, with better investment and business opportunities’, said Minister Petkova.
The Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank Dimitar Radev pointed out that a very successful step had been taken towards Bulgaria joining the euro area as of 1 January 2026. ‘The process from now on is clear, i.e. there will be a meeting of the European Council with the heads of government followed by consideration in the European Parliament. The final decision must be taken by the Council of the European Union on 8 July’, the Governor of the BNB further said.
On the same date, the decision on the BGN/EUR exchange rate with which Bulgaria will join the euro area will also be reconfirmed. The topic was also discussed at today’s meeting of the Eurogroup. ‘The exchange rate is BGN 1.95583 for EUR 1’, the Minister of Finance was adamant.
Ms. Petkova’s working visit continues tomorrow with participation in the meeting of the Council of the European Union on Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) which is expected to approve the recommendation of the Eurogroup. The meeting will also approve a letter from the ECOFIN to the European Council which will discuss the convergence reports for Bulgaria by the end of June. The final legal acts for the full European integration of our country are expected to be adopted by a final decision of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) on 8 July.