In connection with the statements of the MP Assen Vassilev regarding the preparation and adoption of the National Plan for the Introduction of the Euro in Bulgaria: “Almost a year after we entered the waiting room, there was no plan for the adoption of the euro. What GERB did was adopt a decree of the Council of Ministers. Here it is - number 103 of March 25, almost a year after entering the waiting room, in which decree they very proudly say that by June 30, the next cabinet must develop a draft plan for the introduction of the euro with an indicative date for membership in the eurozone of January 1, 2024. In other words, what GERB set was a task to write a plan. The plan was written, the plan was implemented. Only inflation remains“, the Ministry of Finance, in the interest of objectivity, recalls the following facts:
The beginning of the practical preparation for the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria was set with the establishment of the Coordination Council for the Preparation of the Republic of Bulgaria for Membership in the Eurozone by Decree No. 168 of the Council of Ministers of 2015. The Council is responsible for organizing and coordinating the practical preparation of the Republic of Bulgaria for membership in the Eurozone. It is co-chaired by the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB).
On June 29, 2018, the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the BNB sent a letter to the eurozone countries, the European Commission and the European Central Bank about the intentions of the Bulgarian authorities to join the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II) and the Banking Union. Just two months later - on August 27, 2018, the Council of Ministers with Council Resolution No. 611 approved an Action Plan for accession to ERM II and the Banking Union.
On July 10, 2020 the President of the European Central Bank, the Finance Ministers and the Governors of the Central Banks of the Eurozone countries, Denmark, which is in ERM II, and Bulgaria, unanimously decided to include the Bulgarian lev in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II. The agreement on the participation of the lev in ERM II is based on Bulgaria's commitment to join the Banking Union and the Exchange Rate Mechanism II simultaneously and on the implementation by the Bulgarian authorities of the measures relevant for the accession and participation in ERM II.
The accession of the Bulgarian lev to the Exchange Rate Mechanism II marks the beginning of active work on Bulgaria's practical preparation for the introduction of the euro, with the initiation by the then Minister of Finance Kiril Ananiev of an amendment to the aforementioned Decree No. 168 of the Council of Ministers of 2015. With the adoption on 30 March 2021 amendment to the Decree for the first time sets a deadline for developing a National Plan for the Introduction of the Euro, namely by June 30, 2021.
In parallel, on 06.04.2021, by a joint order of the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, the composition of the Coordination Council for the Preparation of the Republic of Bulgaria for Membership in the Eurozone was updated and its meeting was held on 14.04.2021. At the meeting, the Council approved the structure and responsible institutions for the development of a National Plan for the Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria, which also marked the beginning of work on the document. The work on the development of the National Plan for the Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria is coordinated by the Ministry of Finance, with each of the state institutions involved in the process of introducing the euro describing in detail the measures and activities that must be undertaken for the successful introduction of the single European currency in the country.
At its meeting held on June 30, 2021, the Coordination Council for the Preparation of the Republic of Bulgaria for Membership in the Eurozone, co-chaired by the Minister of Finance at that time, Assen Vassilev, and the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, Dimitar Radev, approved the developed draft of the National Plan for the Introduction of the Euro in the Republic of Bulgaria. The document was prepared and adopted within the required deadline - June 30, 2021. The draft was published for public discussion on July 5, 2021. Opinions and comments are collected within the statutory one-month period.
In December of the same year, the acting Minister of Finance Valeri Belchev submitted the draft for consideration to the Council of Ministers, but the document was not voted on.
The National Plan for the Introduction of the Euro in Bulgaria was adopted by Decision No. 344 of the Council of Ministers on May 30, 2022, or 9 months after the end of the public discussion. The document was updated by Decision No. 797 of the Council of Ministers of November 13, 2023.