Our membership in the Eurozone means economic and price stability, it means eliminating the costs of converting the lev into the euro. It means more investments, more enterprises, more jobs, economic growth, and, respectively, higher incomes for Bulgarian citizens. This was said by the Minister of Finance Temenuzhka Petkova in Veliko Tarnovo at an information meeting, part of the National Information Campaign for the Introduction of the Euro in Bulgaria.
According to her, the government has one main priority and that is for the transition to the introduction of the single European currency to be smooth and fair.
In order to guarantee this smooth and fair transition, the government, together with the Bulgarian National Bank, is organizing the information campaign in places. It is of key importance for us to be face to face with all of you, so that we can answer all your questions and all your concerns. We have planned and are currently organizing over 100 events throughout the country, the Minister pointed out.
Temenuzhka Petkova drew attention to several myths that are spread by people who are against the introduction of the euro in the country. The first myth is that the prices of goods and services will increase because we will introduce the euro, which is absolutely false, because prices increase as a result of other economic factors, the Minister said.
The second myth that is being spread is that someone will steal our money, the Bulgarian leva. This is categorically not true, because there will not be a single Bulgarian leva that Bulgarian citizens and Bulgarian businesses will lose. The Bulgarian National Bank will convert leva into euros without any time limit and at the fixed exchange rate, without any fee. Commercial banks and Bulgarian post offices in the first half of 2026 will also convert leva into euros absolutely free of charge at the fixed rate.
The third myth is that Bulgaria will become poorer, that the standard of living of Bulgarian citizens will be lowered, which is categorically not the case. Each of us has the opportunity to travel, we travel around Europe, our children study in Europe, our relatives work there and everyone can see what the standard of living is in the member states that have joined the eurozone. There is no member state of the European Union that has joined the eurozone in which the standard of living of its citizens or the country's economic growth is declining, and the trend is exactly the opposite, said Temenuzhka Petkova.
She assured that in the person of the government, citizens and business have a fair partner, with whom they will together successfully walk the path related to the introduction of the euro in our country from January 1, 2026.