site.btaFinance Minister Petkova, IMF Managing Director Georgieva Discuss Preparations for Euro Adoption by Bulgaria

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Lyudmila Petkova met the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, in Luxembourg before the start of the Eurogroup meeting, which she attended on Thursday, the Bulgarian Finance Ministry reported.

During the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Petkova presented the progress in the process of technical and practical preparations for the introduction of the single European currency in Bulgaria,  stressing that the caretaker government is ready in the coming days to approve the draft bill on the introduction of the euro and to submit it for consideration by the National Assembly. The Bulgarian Finance Minister stressed that the timely introduction of the legal framework regulating the process is an important condition for its smooth running.  Kristalina Georgieva expressed her support for the Bulgarian Government's actions to achieve this strategic goal for the country and underlined the importance of Bulgaria's membership in the euro area as a factor for safeguarding monetary policy, supporting the Bulgarian economy and increasing foreign investment.