site.btaMEP Tsvetelina Penkova: Political Predictability Key to Eurozone Membership

Political predictability in a country on the threshold of the euro area is key and important for its membership, said MEP Tsvetelina Penkova (S&D) in a BTA interview, commenting on the mood and support for Bulgaria's accession among her colleagues from the European Parliament.  

"At the moment Bulgaria fulfils four of the five Maastricht criteria, the inflationary one remains a more serious obstacle", she noted and added that the situation was similar with Croatia, which congratulated itself with success thanks to a consistent political bid.  

According to Penkova, in order to address the concerns in Bulgarian society, a comprehensive information campaign is needed to explain the processes, and the entry into the eurozone should be done with the active participation of the country's regulatory authorities to counteract possible abusive practices.

Penkova also commented on current energy issues, including measures through which the renovation of the building stock can continue and deepen. In March she will organize a conference at the European Parliament in Brussels on Bulgaria's role in the upcoming EU transitions, similar to the one held in November at the Bulgarian National Assembly on the country's energy strategy.   

"The Bulgarian business and industry are quite prepared. In the last few years we have actively worked with them on several key regulations. We are concluding negotiations in the European Parliament in February on the important regulation on a zero net emission industry. It aims to bring back within the EU the large industries and technologies that will help this green energy transition," said Tsvetelina Penkova. She stressed that it is very important that policies in the industry and energy are long-term and that political consistency is the way to attract more investment.