THERE’LL SOON BE another country where you’ll be able to travel without needing to exchange your euro for a different currency.

The European Commission has given approval for Bulgaria to adopt the euro from next year, putting it on course to become the 21st member of the eurozone.

The commission said Bulgaria had fulfilled the strict criteria “intended to ensure that a country is ready to adopt the euro and that its economy is sufficiently prepared to do so”.

The European Central Bank also gave a positive opinion, hailing Bulgaria’s “tremendous dedication to making the adjustments needed”.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov hailed “a remarkable day” that followed “years of reforms, commitment and alignment with our European partners”.

The push has, however, sparked a backlash from some Bulgarians, with protests and recent surveys showing nearly half of those questioned opposed adopting the euro — fearing painful economic consequences.

About 1,000 people demonstrated today in front of the National Assembly building in the centre of Sofia. The gathering was organised by the opposition pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party.

Others, though, have welcomed the move towards the euro.

“It will give us greater freedom and make traveling abroad easier,” a 36-year-old software developer in Sofia told AFP, though she added feeling “a bit of nostalgia”.

“We are losing a bit of our identity, our lev,” she said.

“Whether it’s in euros, dollars, or levs, I just want to live well,” Svilen Manavski, 61, a construction worker said.

Bulgaria has had a rocky road to joining the eurozone: the nation has been plagued by political turmoil with seven elections in three years, the most recent in October 2024.

The approval comes 18 years after Bulgaria joined the EU.

With a population of 6.4 million, Bulgaria has spent several years preparing its economy to join the eurozone.

It still needs the approval of the EU’s finance ministers, who are expected to give their full backing in July, before it formally adopts the euro from 1 January 2026.

“Today’s report is a historic moment for Bulgaria, the euro area and the European Union,” said EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis.

“Of course, the euro is more than a currency. Following on from Bulgaria becoming a full member of the Schengen area earlier this year, it brings Bulgaria ever closer to the heart of Europe,” he added.

When the first euro bank notes and coins were rolled out on 1 January 2002, Ireland was one of 12 countries to become part of the single-currency area.

It has since grown to 20, with Slovenia joining in 2007, Cyprus and Malta in 2008, Slovakia in 2009, Estonia in 2011, Latvia in 2014 and Lithuania in 2015. Croatia was the most recent country to join in 2023.

Bulgaria wanted to adopt the currency sooner but in the past few years the EU had concluded its inflation was too high to meet the necessary requirements.

To join the single currency area, member states must show that their economy has converged with other eurozone countries and that they have a handle on their finances.

© AFP 2025