The transition to the euro is going well. This was said in “The Day Begins“ on BNT by the Chairman of the Fiscal Council Simeon Dyankov. According to him, inflation in 2026 will be lower - about 4%.
“Indeed, the transition is going well mainly because the banks have been ready for a long time and have been expecting the entry into the euro for years. "Politicians are slow," said the chairman of the fiscal council.
He also commented that in the event of a fine for overpricing, the trader is not obliged to return the old price.
“As usual, our politicians make changes at the last minute, and when they are made at the last minute, things are missed and in reality the law allows unscrupulous traders to be fined, but they can continue to keep these prices,“ commented Simeon Dyankov.
According to him, a large part of traders have already increased prices even before we entered the eurozone.
“That is why inflation has been rising since July. December is the first month that has calmed down. This year, inflation will be lower than in 2025 - somewhere around 4% on average, instead of 5 - 5.5%. This is not an effect that we are in the eurozone and things are better, but an effect that traders have already raised prices and will not lower them regardless of fines and new laws," he said.
According to him, some sectors can self-regulate with sufficient competition.
„In others, whether you like it or not, the price of milk in the store next to you has increased and you will buy it because your children need milk this morning...".
Can you go to another store where it is cheaper?
The traders are talking to each other, they are not island countries. This price increase that we are seeing will remain, this is a normal process“.
He predicts that in March the country will still not have a regular budget. He expects this to happen in the middle of the year.
A government cabinet is unlikely to take on this task, especially after the bad experience with the last government budget, which was frankly untenable.
„Until then, we are going with the old budget plus the 5% increase for civil servants, who increased yesterday. Why 5% - because inflation as of December is 5%.“
According to him, on the one hand this has reassured civil servants, but on the other hand it has opened a hole in the possibilities for additional problems with the budget. This increase costs about 430 million euros per year – about 35 million euros per month. The problem is not just the amount, but the precedent.
In a prolonged budget, by law, there should be no new expenses.
„Once you have such a breakthrough, if I were on the side of the political parties, I would start proposing - here the socialists proposed for Easter, for Christmas, it would be written into the law, that there should be additional allowances. They will propose it in parliament, which political force will vote against it right before the elections. This will pass, then some other party will propose something else“
He said again that the real deficit is already over 3%.
„For both last year and this year, there was amazing „creative accounting“ to reach 3%. We managed to convince Europe, it also wanted to be convinced“, commented Simeon Dyankov.
According to him, it is inevitable to rethink the tax and social security model, but there should be a public debate and a regular cabinet for this.