site.btaEU Convergence Reports on Bulgaria Largely Positive, Finance Minister Says

The reports on Bulgaria are largely positive as they recognize that the country meets three of the four numeric criteria for eurozone membership, enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova said at a briefing on Wednesday. She commented on the convergence reports of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission (EC) for 2024, which assess the progress of six countries, Bulgaria included, on the path of eurozone membership. The reports were published earlier in the day.

Petkova said that Bulgaria's state budget deficit in 2023 was 1.9% of the country's GDP, compared to an EC reference rate of 3%, and the gross government debt was 23.1% of GDP, compared to a reference rate of 60%.

The Finance Minister noted that Bulgaria has been a member of the Exchange Rate Mechanism since 2020, and the exchange rate of the Bulgarian lev to the euro is fixed at 1.95583 under an earlier currency board arrangement. "Therefore, we also meet the second criterion, the one concerning the exchange rates," she said.

The third criterion has to do with the long-term interest rate, she went on to explain. Between March 2023 and April 2024, the long-term interest rate in Bulgaria was 4%, compared with a reference rate of 5.5%.

Petkova said the Council of Ministers adopted the draft of a law on the planned euro changeover in Bulgaria at its weekly meeting earlier on Wednesday. The draft was prepared by an inter-agency working group comprising members of all government ministries and other stakeholders. The draft was up for public consultation in March and April. It is to be submitted to the National Assembly.