site.btaEuropean Commission Introduces New Requirement for Bulgaria to Accede Eurozone

Brussels, May 23 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said that Bulgaria must meet an additional requirement for entry into the eurozone. He was speaking at a news conference on Wednesday.

"Indeed there is an element of novelty in the case of Bulgaria because now joining the eurozone also means joining the Banking union. These are our post-crisis lessons as we need to ensure the sustainability not only of public finances but stability in our financial sectors. The banking sector is under increased scrutiny in countries which are working to join the eurozone," said Dombrovskis.

Dombrovskis said that the European Commission welcomes the intention and the work of Bulgaria towards ERM II accession and is ready to support it financially under the next EU budget. The EC Vice President said that the question of what the next steps are should be addressed to the European Central Bank.

The European Commission on Wednesday presented the findings of a public opinion survey on the introduction of the euro in the EU member states that have not yet adopted the common currency.

70 per cent of Bulgarians, as many as in the other EU countries, have used euro banknotes and coins. The same share of respondents want their country to join the eurozone. However, 51 per cent of Bulgarians expect negative effects from the introduction of the euro.

Eighty per cent of Bulgarians said that they will manage to adapt to the new currency but the same percentage think that it will lead to abusive price setting.

Fifty-six per cent of Bulgarians think that with the introduction of the euro the country will lose control over its economic policy. Seventy-four per cent of Bulgarians believe that Bulgaria is ready to adopt the euro and according to 60 per cent this should happen as soon as possible.