Bulgaria ready to adopt the euro in 2026

The European Commission announced on Wednesday that Bulgaria has met the conditions to adopt the single currency on January 1, 2026, making it the 21st member of the eurozone, three years after Croatia joined.

The formal decision is due to be taken by EU finance ministers on July 8, but no opposition is expected, even though the country of 6.4 million people, the poorest in the bloc, meets all the technical criteria.

The European Central Bank (ECB) also issued a positive opinion on Wednesday. "Congratulations, Bulgaria!" said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"Thanks to the euro, the Bulgarian economy will become stronger, with more trade with eurozone partners, more foreign direct investment, improved access to finance, more quality jobs and better incomes," she said in a statement.

In this country, a member of the European Union since 2007, the prospect of joining the single currency is far from unanimous. Thousands of people gathered in Sofia on Saturday to voice their opposition. The project is fueling fears of soaring prices and fueling the anger of Europhobes.

According to recent polls, nearly half of those surveyed reject the country's entry into the eurozone next year. However, in a report published Wednesday at Sofia's request, the European Commission concluded that Bulgaria meets "the conditions for adopting the single currency."

These economic criteria include price stability, sound public finances, a stable national currency (the lev), and interest rates that do not diverge too much from other EU countries.

The single European currency was created on January 1, 1999, for electronic transactions. But it took concrete form in 2002, with the introduction of coins and banknotes, replacing the national currencies of twelve EU member states, including Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.

They were later joined by eight other countries: Slovenia in 2007, Cyprus and Malta in 2008, Slovakia (2009), Estonia (2011), Latvia (2014), Lithuania (2015) and Croatia in 2023. The Eurozone already has a population of 350 million, with Bulgaria still to come.