site.btaEBRD President: Bulgaria Is Well on Track to Euro Accession, Is in Good Position to Respond to Risks

Bulgaria is well on track for euro accession because inflation has been receding in the range that is needed as a criterion and there is a strong awareness about the need to keep deficit level at 3% maximum, EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso told Elena Savova of BTA.

“The [Bulgarian] economy overall is still growing and in quite strong positive territory when compared with the rest of the EU,” she said mentioning the EBRD growth forecast of 2.4% in 2025 and 2.8% in 2026 for this country. 

She admits that there are some vulnerabilities in the global environment, including trade tensions, that are likely to have an impact. Also, Bulgaria is dependent on what's going on in the rest of euro area, and Germany, Italy, France. 

“There are some risks ahead and to be able to address them, domestic buffers are very important and Bulgaria is well placed because of the low level of debt. But it is also very important to preserve competitiveness and to invest for the future,” the EBRD President argued.

She also said that monitoring competitiveness and investing in infrastructure schemes, among other measures, are very important for enhancing the growth potential of the country. 

The EBRD focus will continue to be supporting the private-sector development, said the President of the Bank, which more than doubled its investment in Bulgaria in 2024. “Almost all our investment were in the private sector to support SMEs, either directly or through the banking sector - and also to support green transition, energy efficiency and resilience,” said Renaud-Basso. 

Speaking of energy, she points out that Bulgaria is the country with the lowest energy efficiency in the EU, and investing in this area is also very important for the competitiveness of the country, but also for resilience and for energy security.

“We will continue to invest very much in this area. As well as support the development of infrastructure to increase the connectivity but also new technologies, new opportunities,” said the interviewee.

In April, EBRD will launch the Star Venture programme, which was designed to provide targeted support to high-potential companies. It will offer the tech sector and startups targeted advisory support and connect them to a broader network of companies worldwide so that they can learn from each other and build capacities, the EBRD President explained.

During her two days in Bulgaria, she met with a lot of clients from the public sector, from government, but also from the private sector. “I have been very impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit of a number of clients in the private sector from very different areas, from energy, batteries and chargers for electric vehicles to football. So a lot of projects and a lot of energy, which is very good for the future of the country,” she told BTA. 

She described the Recovery and Resilience Plan as “a big opportunity for the country” because it provides a very important amount of financing in the form of grants. “ I think that it's of the utmost importance to try to find ways to unlock this potential for investment, and I know that there are some ongoing discussion and exchange with a number of people during this visit about the plans and implementing the reform agenda that was underpinning this reform program is important also for the benefit of the country, because reform will generate more growth and opportunities,” she said. 

EBRD has been supporting a lot of renewables and battery storage projects and the Bank President believes that will remain very important in its agenda.

“It is also key to improve energy security and improve diversification of energy supply, which is important for this country. So I think that we will continue to support this country in this trajectory,” said Renaud-Basso.

Of course, there will be some trade off between in energy investment and defense investment. European countries are committed to increase defense expenditure, to enhance their security and strategic autonomy, and that will require difficult budget decision. But I think that's a broader discussion and I don't see the trade off between the green transition and this objective. 

Asked if she expects backsteps in climate financing in light of some new development, she said that “Bulgaria is part of the EU and EU will continue to stick to the green transition and support investment to reduce CO2 emission and to adapt, improve the resilience to climate change”.

Commenting the possible sacrifice of climate spending in the name of increased defence spending, she said, “European countries are committed to increase defense expenditure, to enhance their security and strategic autonomy, and that will require difficult budget decision. But I think that is a broader discussion and I don't see the trade off between the green transition and this objective.” 

Development banks and EBRD especially are always adjusting to change in the environment and change of economic circumstances, she said. She mentioned as an example the EBRD quick reaction COVID when it provided support for all countries affected. “We've been also adjusting very quickly, for example, and providing support for the Ukrainian economy and Ukrainian private sector when the war in Ukraine started in February 2022. “So we will adjust, and we are ready to increase our support for Ukraine for reconstruction if a stable peace agreement is reached,” she said.