The European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) have officially confirmed Bulgaria’s readiness to join the eurozone on January 1, 2026, making it the 21st member of the currency union.
In its convergence report on Wednesday, the European Commission noted that Bulgaria meets all the formal criteria for adopting the euro. The ECB also confirmed that Bulgaria has made significant progress in economic convergence and meets the necessary requirements.
Bulgaria has been seeking to switch from the lev to the euro since joining the European Union in 2007. But after such a long wait, many Bulgarians have lost their initial enthusiasm, and according to a Eurobarometer survey conducted in May, 50% of those polled are now sceptical about the euro.
The European Commission’s positive recommendation means that EU leaders will approve it later in June. EU finance ministers will then set the exchange rate for the Bulgarian lev against the euro in July, leaving the rest of the year for the country to make technical preparations for the transition.
If Bulgaria joins the single European currency in 2026, the head of the Bulgarian central bank will take up an official seat on the ECB’s Governing Council.
However, critics warn that Bulgaria’s entry into the eurozone could lead to at least a one-off price increase, which would hit the rural population particularly hard.
Amid such concerns, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev announced plans to hold a national referendum on delaying the country’s entry into the eurozone. The speaker of the Bulgarian parliament rejected the proposal.
