site.btaBulgaria Maintains Price Stability in Line with Eurozone Criteria

In March 2025, inflation in Bulgaria continues to meet the price stability requirement under the Maastricht criteria for joining the Eurozone, shows aggregated data on consumer price dynamics in the EU and the Eurozone, published by Eurostat on Wednesday.

In March 2025, the average annual inflation (for the April 2024 – March 2025 period compared to April 2023 – March 2024) in Bulgaria is 2.7%, measured using the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices.

In the Eurozone, the reference value, calculated as the arithmetic average of the three best-performing countries plus 1.5 percentage points, is 2.7% (2.73% without rounding off), based on the average annual harmonized indices.

The three countries defining the reference value are Ireland (1.2%), Finland (1.2%), and Italy (1.3%).

Bulgaria fully met the criterion for the first time in February 2025, when the reference value was again 2.7% and the level of harmonized average annual inflation was 2.6%.

In February, Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova and Bulgarian National Bank Governor Dimitar Radev sent a letter to the European Commission and the European Central Bank requesting ad-hoc convergence reports for Bulgaria’s accession to the Eurozone. Addressing a meeting with representatives of the business community on Tuesday, both Petkova and Radev said that Bulgaria is getting closer to achieving its goal of joining the Eurozone.