site.btaESM Approves Bulgaria’s Accession Ahead of Euro Adoption on Jan. 1

At its meeting on Thursday, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) approved Bulgaria’s accession to the Mechanism, European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis said at a press conference following the Eurogroup meeting.

Dombrovskis said that Bulgaria will adopt the euro on January 1, 2026, and that the ESM decision is “another significant milestone for the country and will further enhance the resilience of the Bulgarian economy”.

ESM Managing Director Pierre Gramegna said that Bulgaria had formally requested to join the mechanism and that, once it becomes an ESM member in 2026, the country “will gain access to a robust financial safeguard”.

The ESM is a key pillar of the eurozone’s financial-stability architecture. It provides financial assistance to member states experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, financing difficulties.

The Mechanism was created by an intergovernmental treaty on February 2, 2012, and became operational later that year. It is headquartered in Luxembourg. The ESM is an intergovernmental organization under public international law, with its shareholders being the eurozone countries. By issuing debt instruments, the ESM finances loans and other forms of support for member states.

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), established in 2010, was the predecessor of the ESM. It provided loans under macroeconomic adjustment programmes, purchased government debt on primary and secondary markets, offered precautionary credit lines, and financed bank recapitalizations through loans to participating countries.