site.btaEconomy Minister Nikolov Comments on Introduction of Euro in Bulgaria

Speaking at the General Assembly of European League for Economic Cooperation, on the topic of "The Future of the Euro and Bulgaria's Future in the Euro Area", caretaker Economy Minister Petko Nikolov said that joining the single European currency is among the main priorities of the country. Its introduction will be proof of the deepening of Bulgaria's European integration, he stressed, quoted by his Ministry on Monday.

Nikolov pointed out that this country will take a big step forward in its integration and will participate in the process of forming the monetary policy in the EU.
"With the accession of Bulgaria to the Eurozone, we will become part of a community in which over 340 million citizens of 20 EU member states use the euro as their national currency. Membership in the most developed monetary union in the world brings significant benefits in an economic, social and reputational aspect," said Nikolov.

He recalled that Bulgaria's strategic goal is to fulfill the conditions for membership in the eurozone by the end of 2024, after which to introduce the euro as the national currency. Among the actions needed to achieve this goal, he pointed to maintaining budgetary discipline and reducing inflation to levels comparable to the countries with the lowest inflation in the eurozone. Meeting the inflation criterion remains a challenge for Bulgaria and requires maintaining efforts to achieve, he added.

Minister Nikolov said that the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria will be accompanied by specific measures to protect consumers, which include requirements for the correct recalculation of prices from leva to euro, double labeling of the prices of goods and services in euro and in leva. He added that the period of double marking of prices will start one month after the date of entry into force of the decision on the adoption of the euro and will end 12 months after the date of introduction of the euro.

The Economy Minister noted that the Commission Protection Consumer will monitor compliance with the traders' obligations for correct recalculation and double indication of prices. He added that in order to ensure consumer protection, specific measures such as the monitoring of commercial practices, price checks and mechanisms for rapid response to violations are included.

"After Bulgaria fulfills the requirements for joining the eurozone, Bulgarian businesses will have enough time to prepare for the actual transition of the information, intra-company process management systems and payment systems," he assured.