site.btaSofia Expects to Meet Price Stability Criteria for Eurozone Entry by Year's End - Finance Minister

Sofia expects to meet the price stability criterion for eurozone entry by the end of this year, thus overcoming the last challenge to Bulgaria's euro area membership, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova said at the opening of the Euro Week at the Sofia University of National and World Economics and the Tenth Annual Monetary and Economic Science Conference on Digital Transformation and Economic Recovery in the Post-Crisis Period.

Once it fulfills the last criterion, Bulgaria will send a request for the preparation of extraordinary convergence reports by the European Commission (EC) and the European Central Bank (ECB) on the basis of which the EU Council is to decide as soon as possible on a date for Bulgaria's membership in the euro area, the Minister said. 

She added that more work is still to be done at national level and recalled that in addition to the implementation of the measures for the technical preparation for the introduction of the euro, the Finance Ministry is in the process of preparing a draft budget for next year, in which the planned deficit will be within the target of 3% of GDP.

She expressed hope that the budget for 2025, ensuring compliance with the fiscal rules set out in the Public Finance Act, would be adopted by the 51st National Assembly, ensuring the stability of public finances and fiscal sustainability.

"Sticking to a more conservative fiscal policy is important not only for the introduction of the single European currency, but also for the long-term financial stability of the country," Petkova said.