site.btaEuropean Parliament Committee Adopts Draft Report on Bulgaria's Eurozone Entry on January 1, 2026

Meeting here on Tuesday, the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs voted, 46-3 with 5 abstentions, to approve a draft report on Bulgaria's adoption of the euro on January 1, 2026. A vote on the document is due at the Parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg on July 8.

The report says that the European Parliament approves the European Commission recommendation on Bulgaria's admission to the eurozone. Bulgaria's accession to the eurozone sends a strong political message about the appeal of the single European currency, the report says further. The procedure does not envisage any additions to the draft report.

European Parliament Rapporteur Eva Maydell (European People's Party/GERB) recommends that Bulgaria adopts the euro on January 1, 2026.

Addressing the Committee meeting on Tuesday, Bulgarian MEP Rada Laykova (Europe of Sovereign Nations/Vazrazhdane) said that citizens will pay for "the fact that the Maastricht criteria have been ignored". She noted that the rapporteur represents the ruling party in Bulgaria. "This is political theatre," Laykova commented and recalled that a demand for a referendum on the eurozone entry in his country had been denied support. 

Last week Bulgaria's bid to enter the eurozone was unanimously backed by the Eurogroup and EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). The convergence reports and the European Commission's proposal for Bulgaria's admission into the eurozone will be discussed at a meeting of the European Council on June 26-27, 2025.

After the plenary vote in Strasbourg, also on July 8 in Brussels ECOFIN will vote on the last set of legal texts on Bulgaria joining the euro area.