site.btaCentral Bank's Lyubomir Karimansky: Bulgaria Will Have Voice in ECB after Eurozone Entry, Could Influence Monetary Policy Decisions

January 1, 2026 will mark the end of the currency board in Bulgaria, as the country will start following the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB), Lyubomir Karimansky, member of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) Governing Council, said on Bulgarian National Television on Sunday. He stressed that Bulgaria will have its own voice in the ECB, which is a prerequisite for being able to influence monetary policy decisions in the euro area.

The BNB Governor participates in the voting and can safely exert influence in a way that defends Bulgaria's position and the central bank's opinion on one thing or another that would affect monetary policy,” Karimansky said.

In his words, the BNB will procure the necessary quantities of euro banknotes, and the people in the country should not have any worries about this. Karimansky said the euro should be seen as a tool, not a panacea for the Bulgarian economy, with the more important issue now being maintaining fiscal discipline.

He expressed doubts that this year's budget could be implemented within its set parameters, adding that there is ambiguity as to what the Government's priorities are now that the eurozone accession target has been met.

Karimansky expressed concerns about the European Union's policy towards armaments by redirecting spending at the expense of other important sectors, such as agriculture. “It is worrying that we are spending so much money on arming Europe,” he said, pointing out that this reduces the possibility of investing in real assets because “weapons do not lead to the production of wealth”.