site.btaEuro Transition Process Completed, 89% of Leva Withdrawn from Market - Euro Coordination Centre Head

The euro transition process in Bulgaria has ended, and only its technical part remains as 89% of leva have been withdrawn from the market, leaving around BGN 3.4 billion in citizens, Coordination Centre on Euro Adoption head Vladimir Ivanov told a briefing here on Monday. Between 8 and 11% of leva are expected to remain in citizens, similarly to the trends in other countries who have joined the euro zone. 

From March 9 to 13, Bulgarian Posts registered 6,334 operations for currency exchange worth BGN 6,529,000. Since the start of the year, the operations number 175,398 worth BGN 252  million.

From March 6 to 12, the Interior Ministry registered 6 new cases of attempted use of counterfeit euro banknotes. Two pre-trial investigations and four criminal probes have been launched, Ivanov said. A total of 21 banknotes were seized, including four EUR 50 notes, 16 EUR 10 notes, and one EUR 5 note. Since January 1, the Interior Ministry has recorded a total of 177 attempts to use counterfeit euro banknotes, including those with the correct specifications.

Since August 2025, when prices began being displayed in both BGN and EUR, the Commission for Consumer Protection (CPC) has carried out 6,128 checks. A total of 694 violation reports were filed, 107 penalty orders were issued, and 194 settlement agreements were reached, Ivanov added. He noted that, over the entire period, violations were found in about 11% of the inspections. This indicates that the vast majority of merchants comply with legal requirements. In the March 5-11 period, the checks numbered 202, and 18 violations were established.

Data on prices monitored by the CPC indicate that overall price levels remain stable at this time, Ivanov said. According to him, there is no evidence of a trend toward rising prices beyond typical seasonal fluctuations, which are objectively determined by market conditions, production factors, supply, and trade in the relevant goods. During the reporting week, the CPC received 1,052 complaints and reports, which is an increase compared to the previous week. Complaints and reports predominantly concern issues related to high water and electricity bills, and these are referred to the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Energy, as per their respective jurisdictions, Ivanov explained.

The coordination between the CPC, the National Revenue Agency (NRA), and the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency (BFSA) continues, as do joint inspections, Ivanov noted.

In the March 9-12 period, the NRA carried out 440 inspections, resulting in the detection of 67 violations of the Law on the Introduction of the Euro. Forty-nine reports were filed for administrative violations, and 42 penalty orders totaling EUR 111,000 were issued.

Ivanov announced that last week, thorough inspections were also launched at a number of gas stations regarding fuel prices, with 54 stations inspected. The results of these inspections are yet to be released.

From March 9 to 13, the BFSA conducted 268 inspections of facilities producing food included in the basic consumer basket. Non-compliances were identified regarding building infrastructure, failure to update internal monitoring programmes, the use of imitation products in snacks sold in schools, labeling deficiencies, non-compliance with national and EU legislation, and other issues. Twelve corrective orders and one administrative violation notice were issued for the identified non-compliances. Nine kilogrammes of baked goods were seized due to improper storage and labeling. A total of nine samples of bread, fresh milk, yogurt, and butter were collected from retail outlets nationwide and sent for testing. The results of the analyses will be presented next week. Of the samples taken jointly with the CPC last week, all dairy products met the required standards, Ivanov noted.

At Monday's briefing, National Statistical Institute (NSI) Deputy Chair Svilen Kolev presented inflation data for February showing that the monthly inflation rate, measured by the Consumer Price Index, was 0.4%, which is an increase by 0.1% from last week’s preliminary flash estimates. Kolev also said that annual inflation for February remained unchanged at 3.3%. NSI's final data will be released on April 14.