Time is counting down for banks, businesses and consumers in the country, who say goodbye to the country’s national currency, the lev, and prepare to join the eurozone on January 1, 2026. Citizens are welcoming it with enthusiasm, skepticism and, in some cases, anger.
Bulgaria, a Black Sea country on the EU’s southeastern border, will become the 21st to join the euro zone as it met the required criteria in the year ending, including those on the level of inflation, the budget deficit, long-term borrowing costs and exchange rate stability.
Its entry will come two years after Croatia – in January 2023 – joins the last country to join the eurozone and will increase the number of Europeans using the currency to over 350 million.
Belonging to a country in the Eurozone, in addition to using that currency, also means a seat on the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB), which determines monetary policy for the Eurozone.
But while successive governments have pushed for the country’s entry into the eurozone since it joined the EU in 2007, and while business is largely in favor, the Balkan country of 6.7 million citizens appears divided over the latest development. At least that’s what the polls show.
The fear of precision and taxes – The role of Russia
Some fear joining the euro zone will push up commodity prices and others are suspicious of the political establishment in the wake of the crisis with the resignation of the government this month amid widespread protests against proposed tax hikes.
Moreover, in a country with historic cultural and political ties to Russia, many worry about the prospect of greater subservience to Europe.
“I’m against it, first of all because the lev is our national currency,” says pensioner from Sofia Emil Ivanov. “Secondly, Europe is headed for collapse, which even US President Donald Trump has mentioned in his new national security strategy. I may not be alive when the collapse of the EU happens, but that’s where things are going,” comments Mr. Ivanov, shopping in the capital.
Pros and cons
Some political analysts believe that the campaign to promote the euro has been ineffective and that the elderly, especially in remote areas, will find it difficult to adapt. They say the lack of a stable government could further complicate the currency change.
However, on the streets and in the shops of Sofia, businesses are preparing. The prices of products, from fruit to bottles of wine, are displayed in both leva and euros. The government-sponsored billboards show the euro-levy rate with a message that reads: “Shared past. Common future. Common currency”. TV commercials have also highlighted the coming change.
Some have welcomed the move. “Not only the elderly, but also all the young people can easily travel, using euros, instead of having to exchange currency,” says Veselin Apostovlova, a retiree, also doing her shopping in Sofia.
Businesses that sell goods across borders are also supportive.
Natalia Gadzheva, owner of the Dragomir Estate winery in Bulgaria, told Reuters: “For me, the most important thing is that all functions, which involve currency conversion and reissuing invoices in euros and then in leva, will be abolished.”
