Bulgaria has become the leading news in the Romanian media. The reason is the convergence report published on Wednesday by the European Commission that our country is ready to adopt the euro from January 1, 2026, BTA reported.
„Bulgaria gets the green light“, „A neighboring country adopts the euro, Romania lags“, „Our Bulgarian neighbors are moving quickly towards the eurozone“, „Bulgaria has overtaken us again“, "Bulgaria is switching to the euro, Romania risks losing EU funds", "Bulgaria teaches us lessons – enters the eurozone in 2026, while Romania remains to watch from the bench," some of the headlines read.
The website 3minute.net notes that while Romania does not meet any of the four criteria for switching to the euro, Bulgaria is taking the big step and if everything goes according to plan, it will become the 21st country in the European Union to adopt the single currency.
The topic is also being actively discussed on social networks, notes the newspaper “Adeverul“ and cites some of the comments. Some users define Bulgaria's entry into the eurozone as a good thing and argue that no country has gone bankrupt after switching to the euro.
„They are simply corrupt in Romania and want to control the currency so they can do whatever they want, just as they have reduced our purchasing power and will probably continue to do so“, writes one user.
„If we switch to the euro, the state will no longer be able to print lei whenever it wants, and there will be less tax evasion“, comments another.
A third points out that if things don't work out with Bulgaria, Romania will stay with the leu and recalls that Poland, Sweden, Denmark and the Czech Republic have not switched to the euro.
„This is a super funny situation. In Bulgaria, the government really wants to switch to the euro, and about 65 percent of the population is against it. In Romania, the population is about 70 percent “for“ switching to the euro, but the government doesn't want to“, says one of the comments.
Another user points out that Bulgaria has had a very tight monetary policy in order to stay within the margins needed to enter the eurozone.
“We chose economic development, which means inflation and a budget deficit (it should have been from investments, but we have insane imbalances). Romania would not look like it does today if it were on the path of the euro. The good thing about having your own currency is that in case of a collapse, you print hard and pay off your debts in local currency. When you are in the euro, you are condemned to pay everything, just like it was with the Greeks“, he commented.
“Romania's problem is the trade balance, which is in trouble, and we are not producing anything. "We don't even have investments in investment funds, apart from the third pillar joke that is being imposed on the Romanian stock market," another user objects.