site.btaEuro Adoption Concerns Are Groundless, Says Bulgarian Commerce Chamber President

Concerns about the introduction of the euro are groundless, said Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) President Tsvetan Simeonov here on Tuesday. He was commenting the memorandum on cooperation between employers, trade unions and the Government on countering speculation on the introduction of the euro, signed on June 9.

Employers took the responsibility to adequately report the pros and cons of the euro adoption, and to aid with the prevention of speculative trade arrangements, said the BCCI President.

The Chamber has been monitoring the development of the common European currency ever since its creation. They report that up until now the adoption of the euro has been mostly beneficial for countries, but there have also been some challenges in trade due to the parallel use of two currencies, said Simeonov.

"Opinions rise in public discourse that we should look at countries like Poland, Czechia, Hungary, and Romania, that are EU members but are not rushing to join the Eurozone. Statistics indicate that GDP growth in Hungary and Romania was under 1%. On the other hand, in the years when Bulgaria started working towards Eurozone accession, its GDP grew with 2.8%. Bulgaria also shows lower government deficit in 2024 – 24.1%, compared to Hungary – 73%, Poland – 55%, Romania – 54%," commented Simeonov.

Simeonov explained that the situation with inflation is similar. In 2024, Bulgaria had 2.6% inflation, when Hungary had 3.7%, Poland – 3.7%, and Romania 5.8%. Bulgaria also had a better balance of payment deficit of 3%, when Hungary has 4.9%, Poland – 6.6%, and Romania – 9.3%. The data shows a persistent trend of increasing debt in these countries, stated Simeonov.

When it comes to the parallel use of two currencies over a short period of time, Simeonov said that BCCI should remind Bulgarians about the “good” financial specialists who pushed Bulgaria into hyperinflation. Between 1996 and 1997, inflation reached 500%.