site.btaDeputy Prime Minister Zafirov Confident Bulgaria Will Receive "Definitive" Green Light to Join Euro Area

Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov expressed confidence on Saturday that Bulgaria will receive a "definitive yes" on July 8, when the European Parliament is scheduled to vote on the country's accession to the euro area. ”This will complete the full cycle of integration of our country into the European family,” Zafirov told reporters in Razgrad, where he was attending a festival celebrating Bulgaria’s community centres.

He said the convergence reports by the European Commission and the European Central Bank were clear and conclusive, and he believes they influence the expected positive outcome of the vote. “Encouraging signals were also received from Austria, where the Prime Minister [Rosen Zhelyazkov] recently paid a visit,” Zafirov noted.

Zafirov acknowledged the concerns many Bulgarians have about joining the euro area. “I have great respect for those who are expressing fear or confusion about this process,” he said, adding that Bulgarian politicians and the Bulgarian State as a whole have failed to adequately inform the public. The Deputy Prime Minister said that there had been little effort in the last few years to communicate the benefits of this move. He noted that there are many advantages to joining the euro area, especially in terms of economic growth, improving the standard of living, and becoming part of the world’s most prosperous economic community. “However, to overcome public fears, a more proactive information campaign is needed. Most importantly, the State must provide the necessary guarantees that there will be no room for speculation - inflation and price hikes. This is what the Bulgarian public is concerned about,” Zafirov said.

“The real question is not whether we are ‘for’ or ‘against’ the euro, but whether the Bulgarian State has the strength, the will, and the responsibility to implement the necessary measures that will guarantee the peace of mind of Bulgarian citizens,” he added. Zafirov said he is confident that the National Assembly will fulfill its role effectively. He was adamant that speculation will not be tolerated. “People should feel completely at ease,” he said.

Asked to assess the role of Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) representatives in the current government, particularly the ministers, Zafirov, who is also BSP’s leader, said that the biggest success is the adoption of the state budget, especially “at a time when many Bulgarian municipalities were at risk of being left without funding.” “There have been many achievements,” Zafirov noted. “What matters most is that we are actively participating in a government that has provided Bulgarian people with the much-needed comfort and reassurance that the political crisis that had kept the country’s socio-economic life in a chokehold for years is over,” he said.