The NSI data is already a fact and our assessment is that Bulgaria also covers this criterion for price stability and I very much hope that from January 1 Bulgaria will take its rightful place in the eurozone. This was what Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova told bTV.
Our assessment shows that we have covered the inflation criterion, but let's wait for the Eurostat data, which will be released tomorrow /b.r. today/, she added.
When asked whether the referendum proposed by the president on the euro could be a risk for the date of January 1, 2026. for entry into the eurozone, Petkova commented that "President Rumen Radev definitely made an attempt to divert Bulgaria from achieving its strategic goal - membership in the eurozone".
In addition to this attempt, President Radev also tried to destabilize the Bulgarian government with this proposal, she added, specifying that he did not succeed, but on the contrary, in her words, he consolidated the government and all democratic forces in the Bulgarian parliament. The other thing the Bulgarian president wanted to do, in my opinion, was to introduce a certain amount of hesitation into the European institutions regarding Bulgaria's readiness and determination to enter the eurozone from January 1, 2026, Petkova said.
The Minister of Finance also said that in her conversation in Brussels with European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, Eurogroup President Pascal Donahue and the ECB, she clearly stated the position of the Bulgarian government and the BNB that Bulgaria continues to insist on this main priority of its - membership in the eurozone from January 1, 2026, to be a fact, because Bulgaria has never been closer to its membership in the eurozone than now, we have never been more ready for it.
So I clearly stated the position and what the president tried to do, I think, ended in failure for him, Petkova commented. This was a kind of sabotage by the president of the country's national interests in the name of realizing his personal political goals and priorities, Petkova also said.
According to Petkova, no one will lose from the fact that a referendum on the euro will not be held. As it became clear, this is an unconstitutional request by the Bulgarian president. All lawyers, specialists in constitutional law stated that this issue has long been resolved by an international treaty to which Bulgaria is a party - the Treaty on our Accession to the EU, she added. According to her, if there was any hesitation about whether Bulgaria should go in this direction, this should have happened before May 11, 2005.
Minister Petkova also commented on some fears among some people related to the adoption of the euro.
The introduction of the euro and Bulgaria's membership in the eurozone is not some problem or some obstacle that we must overcome. This is an opportunity, a chance for Bulgaria to guarantee its financial and economic stability, said Minister Temenuzhka Petkova. She added that our membership in the eurozone ranks us with the strongest countries in the EU, and that this is a very serious chance for Bulgaria to improve the investment environment significantly, and for Bulgarian business to have access to financing under much better conditions.
Petkova was categorical that the government will take all necessary actions so that Bulgarian citizens are protected from possible attempts to speculate by certain traders. The government will act uncompromisingly with regard to such entities that will speculatively and unreasonably try to increase prices, she said. She added that the Law on the Introduction of the Euro clearly stipulates the steps and mechanisms that we must go through - it lists the competent institutions that will intervene at each stage within their competence.
According to Petkova, Bulgarian citizens have no reason to worry. She refuted "several mantras" that are being spread related to the eurozone. One of them is that the purchasing power of Bulgarian citizens will sharply decrease after our entry into the eurozone – this is categorically not the case, the minister said. Petkova said that no country that has joined the eurozone has reduced the purchasing power of its citizens – on the contrary, the process is exactly the opposite. The goal of our membership in the eurozone is for us to have economic and financial stability, which will enable the Bulgarian economy to develop much better, she said.
The other "mantra" is related to inflation – it is claimed that after the introduction of the euro there is a risk of increasing inflation. This is not the case because the euro does not generate inflation, Petkova also said. She asked "whether in 2022, when inflation reached 18 percent, the euro was the reason for this". And she added that the single currency can in no way be the reason for increasing inflation.
Bulgarian citizens should be calm that the state is in its place and we will do everything necessary to ensure a smooth transition to the euro, said Temenuzhka Petkova. She assured that the state will mobilize all the forces and means of the competent authorities and will be in its place so that Bulgarian citizens can be calm. Petkova also noted that the Ministry of Finance has a special page on its website dedicated to the euro, where everyone can see all the information related to the process of its introduction. The Minister of Finance called on Bulgarian citizens not to succumb to manipulation, but to trust the institutions that have competence in these matters.
On the topic of the strike in public transport in Sofia, Temenuzhka Petkova commented that this is an extremely unpleasant situation that has been created, and what, in her words, we see is a demonstration of the managerial weakness of the mayor of the Sofia Municipality. There is no way to refuse negotiations to people who have certain claims, certain arguments, she said. According to Petkova, the first thing to do in this situation is to seek the opinion of the mayor's team, which deals with the financial issues of the municipality. Since Sofia Municipality still does not have an adopted budget at the moment, they can make the necessary restructuring of Sofia Municipality's expenses and sit down and negotiate with all those working in public transport regarding their demands and reach a compromise solution acceptable to both parties, Petkova believes.
The minister also commented that an attempt was made to transfer the problem to the state, but added that the state has done everything necessary. We have provided a subsidy to Sofia Municipality, which is 17 million leva more than the one provided in 2024. Sofia Municipality has over 638 million leva in cash on its accounts as of March 31, 2025. - this is public information, everyone can see it. Everything that the state had to do has been done, Petkova said. From now on, it is a matter of managerial ability and competence to resolve this issue, she added.
Asked about the protest of public media workers - BNT, BTA and BNR - and the demand for a minimum 15 percent increase in their salaries, Temenuzhka Petkova pointed out that the State Budget Act for 2025 was adopted nearly two months ago, with BNT being provided with over 6 million leva more than the 2024 budget, and a significant part of them is aimed precisely at this - increasing the salaries of the people who work there. The situation is similar in the BNR - the funds provided there in excess of 2024 are over 3 million leva. BNA has been provided with over 600,000 leva more, with the aim of using these funds to increase salaries, the minister noted. We understand very well the specifics of working in public media, but we must also comply with the parameters offered to us by the State Budget Act, said Temenuzhka Petkova. We all know that this year is extremely important for the country's public finances - we cannot afford such additional expenses outside the budget framework, she added.
I very much hope that we will have the opportunity within the next budget and the following budgets, the funds related to personnel costs will be significantly increased, said Minister Petkova. The current situation is that we are working within these parameters that we inherited from the previous administration, she added.