site.btaBulgaria's Path to the Euro: Timeline

Following are the landmark dates in Bulgaria's progress towards accession to the eurozone:

July 1, 1997: A strict exchange rate regime known as "currency board arrangement" is introduced in Bulgaria under provisions of a new Bulgarian National Bank Act, which enters into force on that date. The Bulgarian lev is anchored to the Deutsche Mark in a ratio of BGL 1,000 per DEM 1.

January 4, 1999: The euro replaces the Deutsche Mark as a peg currency, with the exchange rate fixed at BGL 1,955.83 per EUR 1.

July 1, 1999: As the lev is re-denominated by dropping three zeros, the currency-board exchange rate is fixed at BGN 1.95583 per EUR 1.

April 25, 2005: Bulgaria and the European Union sign a Treaty concerning the country's accession to the EU, under which Sofia undertakes to apply the powers and jurisdictions of the EU institutions as set out in the Founding Treaties. The Act concerning the conditions of accession of Bulgaria and the adjustments to the treaties on which the EU is founded obliges Bulgaria to participate in the Economic and Monetary Union from the date of accession as a Member State with a derogation.

May 11, 2005: The National Assembly votes, 231-1 with 2 abstentions, to ratify Bulgaria's EU Accession Treaty. 

September 2009: Finance Minister Simeon Djankov says Bulgaria plans to enter the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II) in November, but this is delayed due to a budget deficit exceeding the Maastricht criterion.

July 2011: Djankov says that the adoption of the euro will be postponed until the end of the eurozone sovereign-debt crisis. 

January 2015: Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov says Bulgaria may join ERM II before the end of 2018.

July 3, 2015: By Decree No. 168, the Council of Ministers establishes a Coordination Council to prepare the country for eurozone membership. The Council is tasked with drafting a plan for the introduction of the euro, proposing a target date, and organizing the preparation and coordination of the expert working groups.

June 29, 2018: The Bulgarian authorities send relevant stakeholders a letter of intent regarding the country's intention to join ERM II and the Banking Union. The letter outlines measures including banking supervision, macroprudential framework, and the governance of state-owned enterprises.

July 12, 2018: The Eurogroup welcomes Bulgaria's intention to put in place the necessary elements for successful entry into ERM II.

July 10, 2020: The Bulgarian lev enters ERM II by mutual agreement of all ERM II parties (the ministers of the euro area Member States, the President of the European Central Bank, and the minister and the central bank governor of Denmark). Bulgaria has to remain in this so-called "eurozone waiting room" without severe tensions and without devaluing its central rate against the euro for at least two years before it could qualify to adopt the euro. Bulgaria commits unilaterally to continue its currency board arrangement within the ERM II.

October 1, 2020: Bulgaria and its central bank join the European Banking Union under Decision (EU) 2020/1015 of the European Central Bank (ECB) of 24 June 2020 on the establishment of close cooperation between the ECB and the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). For the first time since its inception, the Banking Union extends its span beyond members of the euro area.

June 30, 2021: Bulgaria's Government and central bank adopt a draft national plan for the adoption of the euro, stating an intention for the country to join the eurozone on January 1, 2024. 

May 30, 2022: The first version of the National Euro Changeover Plan is adopted by Council of Ministers Decision No. 344.

December 6, 2022: Bulgaria, the eurozone Member States and the European Commission sign a Memorandum of Understanding on the start of the production of euro coins and the preparatory tasks prior to the start of this production.

April 7, 2023: The Vazrazhdane Party submit to Parliament a proposal for organizing a national referendum with the question "Do you agree that the Bulgarian lev should be the only official currency in Bulgaria until 2043?" A total of 471,000 valid signatures are collected in support of the proposal.

July 7, 2023: The legislature votes, 68-98 with 46 abstentions, to reject Vazrazhdane's motion. The majority argues that it is unlawful to submit to a referendum matters regulated by international treaties concluded by Bulgaria and that such a referendum could only be held before such treaties have been ratified.

July 14, 2023: Vazrazhdane petitions the Constitutional Court to declare unconstitutional the National Assembly resolution refusing to organize a referendum.

November 2, 2023: The BNB Governing Council adopts Decision No. 479 on the design for the Bulgarian national side of all euro coin denominations and the graphic design for the 2 euro coin edge inscription.

November 13, 2023: A revised version of the National Euro Changeover Plan is adopted by Council of Ministers Decision No. 797, setting January 1, 2025 as a target date for the adoption of the euro.

February 8, 2024: The Constitutional Court adopts a decision dismissing conclusively Vazrazhdane's initiative to hold a national referendum on keeping the lev as the country's only official currency until 2043.  

February 12, 2024: The BNB announces it had finished the process of coordinating and approving the design of the Bulgarian euro coins. The design reproduces the current symbols featured on the Bulgarian circulation coins (the Madara Rider on the 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 euro cent coins, St John of Rila on the 1 euro coin, and Paisii of Hilandar on the 2 euro coin.

March 25, 2024: The Finance Ministry launches https://evroto.bg, an information website on the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria.

July 26, 2024: The National Assembly passes a resolution on accelerating and completing the process of preparations for the adoption of the euro in Bulgaria.

August 7, 2024: The National Assembly passes an Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria Act, according to which the single currency will be introduced on the date set by a EU Council Decision and a EU Council Regulation adopted in accordance with Article 140 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

September 4, 2024: Parliament votes, 63-107 with 2 abstentions, to reject a motion by Vazrazhdane, seconded by There Is Such a People, on the conduct of a national referendum asking voters to say whether they agree that the Bulgarian lev should be kept as the country's only official currency until 2043.

February 22, 2005: During a Vazrazhdane-organized protest against the adoption of the euro, demonstrators hurl red paint, eggs and fireworks at the European Commission Representation building in Sofia. The door of the House of Europe is set on fire. Ten police officers are injured. Nine arrests are made, and six persons are charged with hooliganism.

February 24, 2025: The Council of Ministers adopts Decision No. 92 to request ad hoc convergence reports on Bulgaria from the European Commission and the ECB.

February 25, 2025: Bulgarian Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova and BNB Governor Dimitar Radev signed a joint letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and ECB President Christine Lagarde, requesting ad hoc convergence reports on Bulgaria.

May 5, 2025: For a third time, Vazrazhdane submit to Parliament their motion on the conduct of a referendum postponing the adoption of the euro. 

May 9, 2025: Bulgarian President Rumen Radev tables a proposal to the National Assembly to resolve on holding a national referendum in which Bulgarians would be asked whether they agree to the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria in 2026.

May 13, 2025: By Order No. 51-550-01-301, National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova rejects the President's proposal, arguing that it is inadmissible because it is inconsistent with the Constitution, the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, Bulgaria's EU Accession Treaty, the Act concerning the conditions of accession, and the Direct Citizen Participation in State and Local Government Act.

May 23, 2025: President Radev petitions the Constitutional Court to nullify Kiselova's refusal to include his proposal for the conduct of a national referendum on Parliament's agenda.