Conference on the euro: Bulgaria lags behind the euro zone entry process

Bulgaria continues to lag behind the process for joining the euro zone by 2024. This became clear during a conference on the topic, held on December 9.

The main challenge for Bulgaria is the political instability, which prevents the adoption of all the necessary legislative amendments to meet all the requirements of the euro zone.

Vice President Iliana Iotova also called for less political talk and more listening to experts.

In the meantime, a protest was held by "Vazrazhdane" party, who are demanding a referendum for or against Bulgaria's entry into the euro zone.

Bulgaria undertook a commitment to joining the euro area and adopting the European currency when it joined the European Union.

The other major challenge is the alignment of incomes with the European ones.

Currently, the country does not fulfil one of the criteria, namely high rate of inflation.

"One big mistake for Bulgaria - we easily fall into the clutches of conspiracy theories. We have a lot of work to do to clarify all the issues for the Bulgarian citizens," Vice President Iliana Iotova said.

"Bulgaria remains the country with the lowest income in the EU, which poses serious risks, there are growing attitudes in this direction. By disproportionately increasing budget spending and debt. Experience, including our own experience, shows that this is a road to nowhere, over time the end result will be a loss of financial stability and also a real deterioration in people's well-being," said Dimitar Radev, Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank.

"Joining the euro zone will have a positive effect on raising incomes. Are there risks? Every process has, but the risks are not the ones that are talked about increasing inflation - on the contrary, there is no such trend in other countries," said Atanas Pekanov, caretaker deputy prime minister for EU funds management.