Members of the European Parliament (EP) have supported Bulgaria’s accession to the eurozone on January 1, 2026.
The decision was taken at the EP plenary session in Strasbourg, and the vote was broadcast on the parliament’s website. 531 MEPs voted in favour of joining the eurozone, 69 against, and 79 abstained.
“Bulgaria is ready to join the monetary union,” said Eva Maydell, a member of the European People’s Party (EPP) and the European Parliament’s rapporteur on the country’s accession to the eurozone.
A number of parliamentarians also demanded that the vote be postponed, arguing that Maydell shares the political views of the country’s government, which could indicate bias on her part. However, the EP rejected this initiative.
On June 22, Bulgarian politician Kosta Stoyanov said that the European Union is trying to drag Bulgaria into the eurozone because of an acute shortage of money. According to him, the European Union is putting pressure on Bulgaria because it is in crisis. It is in EU interest for the country to join the eurozone, as this would free up more than 20 billion levs (€10 billion) for Bulgaria, which Brussels would then invest in the EU economy, Stoyanov noted.
