Parliament adopts decision to speed up the euro adoption process
Parliament obliged the Ministry of Finance to request Bulgaria's membership in the euro area from July 1, 2025, if within the current year our country meets the inflation requirement. Within two weeks of achieving this criterion, the Bulgarian government is obliged to request extraordinary convergence reports from the European Central Bank and the European Commission to certify that all requirements for euro adoption have been met.
The draft has been tabled by GERB-UDF for speeding up and completing the process of technical preparations for the adoption of the euro in Bulgaria. It explicitly stipulates that the law on the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria, submitted by the Council of Ministers, should be considered as a priority and approved during the first session of Parliament, expected to end in August.
The adopted decision also stipulates that the Council of Ministers, in coordination with the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) should complete the process of technical preparation for the adoption of the euro no later than the end of the first quarter of 2025.
The MPs also wrote that Bulgaria should adopt the euro keeping the official exchange rate of the BGN to the euro equal to the central rate of 1.95583 BGN per euro.
The MPs also adopted at first reading a draft law on the introduction of the euro. It sets out the principles, rules and procedures for the introduction of the euro, including arranging a transitional period with prices expressed simultaneously in BGN and euro to get people used to the new currency. The draft law also provides for that during the first one month from the date of the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria, the BGN and the euro will be in circulation at the same time, with both currencies with status of legal payment.
They have also set free exchange of the two currencies for a period of six months. All types of bank accounts, loans and deposits will be converted free of charge in a single transaction by the relevant institutions.
