site.btaBulgaria Met Price Stability Criterion for Eurozone Membership in 2025 - Finance Minister
Bulgaria met the price stability criterion for eurozone membership at the beginning of the year, Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said here on Monday. She was speaking at the opening of the Investor Day 2025: Embracing Opportunities forum, organised by the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.
"We are about to achieve one of Bulgaria's strategic goals: membership in the euro area," she said. Petkova recalled that Bulgaria has met all the convergence criteria, and in February she and Bulgarian National Bank Governor Dimitar Radev sent to the European Commission and the European Central Bank a request for convergence reports. She expects their conclusions to be published in early June.
"Since the beginning of the year, Bulgaria has also been steadily meeting the price stability criterion, which is a good indicator for the development of our economy and we expect positive conclusions so that on January 1, 2026 Bulgaria can take its rightful place in the euro area," Petkova said.
In her words, Monday's forum discussed an important topic related to the development of the capital market as an opportunity for financing the real economy. It is widely believed that the capital market is important for financing the real economy. This is a major theme within the EU, but at the same time it is clear that the development of the capital market has so far failed to reach its potential. That is why the European Commission, both at EU and national level, is working with all Member States to develop the capital market. "For us, the development of the capital market is a priority and we are also actively involved in this process," Petkova underscored.
The Finance Minister noted that EU competitiveness is another key issue, which goes through reducing the administrative burden, especially for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as simplifying the regulatory framework. At the same time, simplifying the regulatory framework should not be at the expense of investors, she added.
Among the official guests of the forum were Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev and Bulgarian Stock Exchange CEO Manyu Moravenov. The expert discussion focused on the prospects and challenges for the capital market against the backdrop of Bulgaria's upcoming accession to the euro area and the opportunities for more investment in the Bulgarian economy in the context of the changing foreign and geopolitical environment and the ambitions for the completion of the EU Capital Markets Union project.
/DS/
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