BNB Governor: Bulgaria Is at Very Advanced Stage of Its Euro Area Accession

Yoana Vodenicharova

BNB Governor Dimitar Radev (BTA Photo)

Sofia,

15.03.2024 17:35

(BTA)

Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) Governor Dimitar Radev here on Friday said that Bulgaria is at a very advanced stage of its accession to the euro area. He was speaking at a conference on "Euro area Accession: Advantages and Challenges for Businesses" organized by the Finance Ministry. The forum was attended by Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe, who is visiting this country at the invitation of Finance Minister Assen Vassilev.

Radev noted that BNB and the banking sector are already "part of the institutional framework, of the euro area’s working mechanisms".

"Bulgaria is at an important stage of its path to the euro area," Radev said. In his words, this is to a large extent an exceptional stage because Bulgaria is the only EU country that is a member of the banking union without being a member of the euro area itself. BNB is the only central bank outside the euro area that works in close cooperation with the European Central Bank and is a full-fledged member of the two main pillars of the banking union, the Single Supervisory Mechanism and the Single Resolution Mechanism.

The BNB Governor said that since Bulgaria joined the banking union, it has maintained sustainable indicators of the banking sector above the EU average both in terms of capital adequacy and liquidity coverage. The profitability indicators hit a historic high in the last three years, Radev added.

The BNB Governor noted that the advantages of the euro area are undeniable from the perspective of the banking sector. Radev said that annual analyses on Bulgaria’s experience of joining the banking union clearly show that it is a positive experience. "We do not find any drawbacks of joining the banking union, which is a key institution of the euro area," he noted.

Radev also said that Bulgaria has maintained a very disciplined fiscal policy for more than 25 years and added that the result is evident. "We have the second lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the EU. If we stay on this path, the euro area will gain yet another voice of common sense in solving the fiscal problems the euro area and the EU face. Our Union is in dire need of this," Radev said.

/RY/