The European Commission has set a date for the publication of the extraordinary convergence report on Bulgaria's readiness to adopt the euro - June 4. It will be published during the spring cycle of the European Semester. The information was confirmed by a spokesperson for the European Commission, Nova TV reported.
Earlier today, Eurostat announced that Bulgaria also met the price stability criterion for entry into the euro area in March.
In the third month of this year, the average annual inflation (for the period April 2024 - March 2025 compared to the period April 2023 - March 2024 - editor's note) in the country was 2.7 percent, measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP).
In the euro area, the reference value, which is defined as the arithmetic mean of the three best-performing countries plus 1.5 percentage points, is 2.7%, taking the average annual Harmonized Indices of Consumer Prices.
The three countries that determine the reference value are Ireland (1.2 percent), Finland (1.2 percent) and percent) and Italy (1.3 percent).
For the first time, Bulgaria fully met the criterion last month, when the reference value was again 2.7 percent, and the level of the harmonized annual average inflation in our country was 2.6.
According to the data for January, which were published in February, our country was formally lagging behind in meeting the criterion by 0.7%. A few days later, the Minister of Finance Temenuzhka Petkova and the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank sent a letter to the European Commission and the European Central Bank requesting extraordinary convergence reports for our country's accession to the eurozone on February 25, 2025.
Recently, the Bulgarian Development Bank published new clarifications on the eurozone.
„Now is the time for Bulgaria to take its rightful place in the eurozone". This was stated in the „Interview in NOVA News“ Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova.
According to her, Bulgaria has never been closer to the eurozone than at the moment.
“We cover all the numerical criteria related to our membership. A procedure for coordinating the data with the European Commission is currently underway. We expect very soon - on April 22 - the independent assessment of Eurostat regarding the deficit on an accrual basis for 2024. On a cash basis, as early as December 31, 2024, it became clear that the budget has a deficit of 3%“, explained Petkova.