site.btaVP Iotova: Bulgaria Must Adopt Euro when Ready to Avoid Shocks, Disappointments

Bulgaria must enter the euro area prepared so that there are no shocks and no disappointments for the people, Vice President Iliana Iotova told journalists in Razgrad (Northeastern Bulgaria) on Tuesday. She expressed confidence that the Government will ask for a convergence report, but added that many things will become clear when the State Budget proposal is seen on 14 February.

"We cannot afford to put Bulgaria in a financial crisis. I think a difference of a few months is not fatal, it is better to really meet all the conditions, especially as far as the financial stability of the country is concerned," Iotova added.

According to her, it is not good for the arguments "for" or "against" the euro area to be heated on a purely political line, because "we are all interested in Bulgaria feeling a full member of the euro area and having the opportunity to intervene in major European financial policies."

The Vice President expressed hope that in the new budget the municipalities would get possibly even more than what they have already stated as their wishes and claims. The reason, according to Iotova, is that local authorities have suffered the worst consequences of the national instability. "These people deserve to breathe a sigh of relief, to feel calm, to defend their projects, both under the operational programmes and the projects already approved by the first tranche of the Recovery and Resilience Plan," Iotova added.