Bulgaria is getting closer to the 2026 euro adoption

Bulgaria is pushing forward to adopt the euro as its currency as early as 2026, with the European Commission ready to finalise the conversion rate with the Bulgarian lev in July.

The first step will occur next week when the Commission publishes a report confirming whether Bulgaria meets all the criteria for euro adoption, followed by another report from the European Central Bank on 4 June. According to Reuters, three euro zone officials were positive that the Commission will indeed green-light Bulgaria’s request to become the 21st member of the euro zone.

In order to qualify for euro adoption, Bulgaria must meet the criteria of inflation, public debt, and the stability of its exchange rate, and the country must not be under a disciplinary budget procedure for a deficit higher than 3% of GDP. For this last criterion, Bulgaria is currently at 3.0% for 2024 and is forecast to have 2.8% for 2025.

Regarding inflation, Bulgaria sits at 2.8%, just above the 1.5% limit, compared to the three best-performing EU countries: France, with 0.9%; Cyprus, with 1.4%; and Denmark, with 1.5%. As for public debt, Sofia recorded it at 24.1% of GDP for 2024 and expects it to grow slightly to 25.1% in 2025, still way below the maximum level of 60%. The interest rate on bonds is also within the 2% margin requested. The exchange rate is also on par with the EU’s request, within the 15% margin on either side of a central parity rate in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II.

Bulgaria plans to adopt the euro as early as 2026. Once adopted, the country will be able to sit at the ECB’s Governing Council. The most recent country to adopt the euro was Croatia in 2023.