Bulgaria Watch

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Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), told BGNES that Bulgaria has met the necessary criteria for joining the eurozone. She stated that Bulgaria’s progress should be reflected in the upcoming convergence report, which is expected to assess the country’s readiness for entry into the eurozone positively.

Georgieva emphasized that Bulgaria has been operating under a currency board since 1997, with the lev pegged to the euro since 1999, effectively placing the country within the eurozone in practice. Now, she noted, Bulgaria will take the final step to become a full legal member of the eurozone.

Commenting on President Rumen Radev’s decision to propose a referendum on the timing of Bulgaria’s eurozone entry, and his subsequent referral of the issue to the Constitutional Court, Georgieva stated this is within the president’s rights. She clarified that the IMF does not weigh in on such matters, focusing solely on the facts – namely, that Bulgaria has met the eurozone entry criteria.

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SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgaria is close to realizing its decades-old goal of joining the euro currency union and deepening ties with the more prosperous countries of Western Europe. But the government faces a populist backlash against the shared currency on the eve of a key decision by European Union authorities.

Fears of inflation, poverty and the unknown are mingling with disinformation spread on social media that aims to turn people against the euro. The discontent tracks with increased support for populist and anti-EU parties across Europe, which is exploited by nationalist and pro-Russian politicians in a country that remains one of Europe’s poorest and most afflicted with corruption.

“Adopting the euro will make us feel the threshold of poverty. After all, prices will be in euros,” said 78-year-old retiree Tanya Ignatova.

“Bulgaria is not ready for the euro. Someday we may be ready, but not now,” said another retiree, Mario Georgiev.

Several thousand people rallied against the euro in the capital on Saturday, urging a referendum on whether to transition from the lev currency to the euro. The head of the pro-Russian Varazhdane party, Kostadin Kostadinov, told the crowd that “Bulgaria has risen and declared: Freedom, we choose the Bulgarian lev!”