site.btaCentral Bank Governor Radev: Positive Convergence Reports Expected and Fully Deserved

The positive convergence reports are an expected and fully deserved result, with the main conclusion being that Bulgaria is fully ready to join the eurozone and meets all nominal criteria sustainably and without exception, said the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), Dimitar Radev, at a press conference at the Council of Ministers on Wednesday.

Radev’s statement, delivered together with Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, was in response to the positive extraordinary convergence reports from the European Commission and the European Central Bank, which noted that Bulgaria meets all the requirements for membership in the eurozone starting from January 1, 2026. 

According to Dimitar Radev, Bulgaria has achieved full legal convergence and has built the necessary technical and logistical infrastructure for eurozone membership.

The BNB Governor pointed out that the focus will now be on what lies ahead, with the Bulgarian central bank’s efforts centered on three groups of tasks.

“The first and most immediate task, of course, is the final decision on Bulgaria’s accession to the eurozone, which, as you know, will be made on July 8. This is a political, but also an administrative process, in which we remain strongly engaged,” said Radev.

According to him, the second group of tasks from the BNB’s perspective is putting the already built technical and logistical infrastructure into “eurozone mode,” which includes information systems, payment systems, accounting, and statistics.

“We have a concrete plan of what needs to be done by the end of the year, which includes a number of actions, and we are strictly following this schedule. This schedule includes the minting of the necessary amount of Bulgarian euro coins, as well as the delivery of the required amount of euro banknotes,” said Dimitar Radev.

He added that the third group of tasks that the BNB will focus on is actively supporting the government’s awareness campaign regarding the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria.

“This is something the bank started earlier, with our efforts mainly directed towards important counterparts such as businesses, trade unions, academic circles, and the non-governmental sector. The results are already visible, as we recently signed memoranda with many institutions in these sectors, and they are also ready to actively participate in the awareness campaign. The business community has begun doing this in a very convincing manner,” said Radev.

“We continue to work at full speed and look confidently ahead,” added the BNB Governor.