Is adoption of the euro as an official currency in Bulgaria postponed?

Several news stories about Bulgaria's adoption of the euro as its official currency have been published by us in recent months. Although we provided some potential timeframes and standards, there are yet no official rules, laws, or dates.

In relation to that, there has been some unofficial information from the Ministry of Finance in Bulgaria. According to how it is stated, Bulgaria will not submit the application form for admission until February 23, as originally planned. The postponement became clear at the last meeting of finance ministers in Brussels a few days ago. The reasons are the current inflation situation and not fulfilling certain time frames for the adoption of mandatory legislation. The Ministry also stated that the submission of the mandatory form can happen later this year if we succeed in passing the laws, which means that the date for a possible adoption is moved by one year, from January 1, 2024, to January 1, 2025. But we need to point out that this is not an official date. This is all in relation to Bulgaria's expected entry into the Eurozone.

Also, from another perspective, certain aspects of this major project are in progress from a legislative perspective  and certain acts are being performed by the National Bank of Bulgaria, which will be introduced soon, so stay tuned.