site.bta"Euro Adoption Act Can Be Adopted until End of Summer" - Deputy Finance Minister Metodiev

"There are prerequisites for the National Assembly to debate and pass the Euro Adoption Act by the end of this coming summer," Bulgarian Deputy Finance Minister Metodi Metodiev said here on Tuesday.

He spoke at a conference on the risks and challenges of the euro changeover in Croatia's experience. The event was arranged jointly by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the Bulgarian-Croatian Business Club and in cooperation with the  Head of the Bulgarian Trade and Economic Affairs Office in Zagreb Mirela Taseva.

"The Euro Adoption Act, which has been drafted over the last year and a half, tapping Croatia's experience, is part of the national legislation and, therefore, is not subject to assessment by the European Commission in the regular Convergence Report," Metodiev specified. The Bulgarian National Bank Act, however, is part of that process, and the Deputy Minister expressed assurance that the report on Bulgaria will take a favourable view on the compatibility of this country's domestic legislation with EU law.

The Finance Ministry models show that Bulgaria will meet the inflation criterion for joining the euro area until the end of 2024, Metodiev said.

"Thanks to its experience with the currency board arrangement, Bulgaria will be among the most disciplined members of the eurozone, and the country will derive additional benefits from this membership," said BCCI President Tsvetan Simeonov.

He was referred to an arrangement of July 1997 in which the Bulgarian lev was pegged, first, to the German mark and later to the euro.

"The BCCI analyses and studies show that most countries successfully adopt the euro and do not report a substantial increase of inflation," Simeonov said further. He recalled that in the countries of the second wave of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) enlargement, Austria, Ireland, etc., consumer prices rose during the pre-accession year and declined during the accession year, while inflation increased in the year after their accession to the eurozone.  

"The BCCP is backing all efforts to join Bulgaria to the EMU," the Chamber's President recalled, arguing that "the deepening of this country's integration with the EU structures will benefit both business and society." 

Deputy Economy and Industry Minister Nikolay Pavlov described Bulgaria's eurozone entry as "one of the most significant foreign policy priorities of this country, along with joining the Schengen area and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). "In the preparation for Bulgaria's accession, a balance is sought between the interests of business and of consumers," he added.

"The European Commission will be cooperating very closely with the Bulgarian authorities in preparing the introduction of the euro in this country," the Head of the European Commission Representation to Bulgaria Yordanka Chobanova said at the conference. She recalled that the Commission and Bulgaria signed a cooperation agreement to this end on April 12.

Chobanova called attention to the disinformation campaign against the euro that has been taking place in Bulgaria in recent years. She recalled that most of the fears that are being instilled in the public are unfounded and can be overcome.

"Bulgarian business and consumers will benefit significantly from the eurozone accession, in terms of saving on foreign exchange costs and transaction costs and gaining access to capital and foreign investments on the integrated financial market. "The exchange rate risk will no longer apply, either," she added.

The EU official described the EMU as "the greatest success of European integration" and "a symbol of the growing political unity in the EU."