site.btaBulgaria More Ready Than Ever to Adopt Euro, Says Deputy Finance Minister

Bulgaria is more ready than ever to adopt the single European currency, Deputy Finance Minister Metodi Metodiev said in Stara Zagora during a working meeting, part of the national information campaign for the introduction of the euro from January 1, 2026.

He stressed that everything necessary has been done to ensure a smooth transition from the lev to the euro in recent years, noting that this is the result of a long-standing political commitment that the Bulgarian state made when it joined the European Union in 2007. Metodiev noted that to date the process of transition from the lev to the euro is being implemented at a good and effective pace, emphasazing that 236 municipalities have already adapted their regulatory framework in terms of introducing the euro, and 246 municipalities have adapted their information systems. "97% of the Bulgarian administration has already registered full readiness in terms of adapting its information systems and software that work with the euro," Metodiev emphasized.

The introduction of the euro will in no way increase electricity bills, said Deputy Energy Minister Georgi Samandov. He recalled that the government managed to renegotiate the liberalization of the energy market by continuing the practice of regulating electricity prices, adding that in this way Bulgaria and Hungary maintain the lowest prices for household electricity in the EU. "Immediately after the publication of the positive convergence report, the Bulgarian Energy Holding managed to refinance bonds, achieving 20% better financial conditions compared to its previous participations," Samandov pointed out. He emphasized that the Bulgarian gas transmission operator Bulgartransgaz managed to attract external financing with record low interest rates, which are below 2%. "What the euro as a currency does is to guarantee the predictable and secure development of the Bulgarian economy," Samandov concluded.