January 2026 is more the realistic date for the admission of Bulgaria to the Eurozone, tells "Politico" Chintia Alcidi from the Brussels Center for the Study of European Politics. Experts and politicians with whom the publication spoke are convinced that the goal of adopting the euro on January 1 next year will not be met.
Russian-funded disinformation is among the reasons for the decrease in public support in Bulgaria for the adoption of the euro, the article claims. Our country will not enter the Eurozone from January next year, not only because of the political upheavals, but also because of constant inflation and the lack of public support.
Some Bulgarian political leaders, including the governor of the BNB, allow this to happen in the middle of 2025. At the same time, officials and experts related to the technical aspects of the accession say that entering in the middle of the year is atypical.
The European Central Bank's next report on Bulgaria, which should determine whether it is ready, is expected before the summer.
For Bulgaria to join, it must not exceed by more than 1.5 percentage points the three best-performing EU countries. According to Jolt Darvash of the Brussels think tank "Bruegel" otherwise our country is in a good budgetary position.
According to him, the current inflation forecast of 2.9% in 2025 shows that the country can enter the Eurozone in 2026. However, Darvash adds that there is room for maneuvers and the "gray zone" that allowed Croatia joining in 2023 could be used to shorten the deadline for Bulgaria. But this must be justified.