site.btaEuropean Commissioner Vice President Dombrovskis: Bulgaria May Join Eurozone Three Years after Joining ERM II

Brussels, July 18 (BTA corr. Nikolay Jeliazkov) - Bulgaria may join the Eurozone three years after joining ERM II, considered the euro "waiting room," European Commission Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue, also in charge of Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, said in a an interview to the Bulgarian News Agency, BTA.

At a meeting on July 12 in the presence of Bulgarian Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov and central bank governor Dimiter Radev, the Eurozone finance ministers discussed a letter of commitment for joining the Eurozone sent by Bulgaria and unanimously declared support for the country on its path to the euro, the Bulgarian Finance Ministry said in a press release about the meeting. It emerges from the statement that Bulgaria is expected to send a request to enter into close cooperation with the ECB in line with the existing procedures, and will undertake the necessary preparations accordingly - including support to the ECB's comprehensive assessment. Additional commitments relate to other financial sector issues and institutional quality and governance. The ECB and the Commission will monitor the effective implementation of these commitments and once they have provided a positive assessment, a decision will be taken by the ERM II parties on the formal application of the Bulgarian authorities for ERM II participation.

The euro area finance ministers undertake that Bulgaria simultaneously joins ERM II and Banking Union. Within approximately one year after Bulgaria's formal application for close cooperation, the ECB could be expected to conclude its comprehensive assessment and its decision may make the start date of close cooperation conditional on Bulgaria's progress in implementing the possible measures required as per the results of the comprehensive assessment.