European Exchange Rate Mechanism

The European Commission's latest report on convergence has determined that Bulgaria does not meet the necessary conditions for adopting the euro. This conclusion, announced today, affects Bulgaria along with five other EU member states that are not yet part of the Eurozone.

The Law on the introduction of the euro could be approved by the National Assembly before the summer concludes, according to acting Deputy Finance Minister Metodi Metodiev's projection today. Metodiev also stated that Sofia is expected to meet the inflation criteria required for Eurozone entry by the year's end, based on the department's models.

Croatia will finally adopt the euro on 1 January 2023.

This became clear today after the Council of the EU signed the last three legal acts necessary for this purpose.

The European Commission has presented a report on the progress of non-Eurozone countries towards the adoption of the euro.   EC Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said there was encouraging progress in some countries.

Bulgaria has officially submitted documents to the European Central Bank for membership of the ERM II exchange rate mechanism. This was revealed by a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron.

The European Central Bank (ECB) and the National Bank of Bulgaria (BNB, the central bank) have set up a swap line to ensure liquidity of up to two billion euros, the BNB said on Wednesday. The line will be in force until the end of 2020 or until needed. The maximum maturity in respect of each withdrawn amount will be three months, BTA reported.

The 60/40 scheme developed by the state authorities to support employment in Bulgaria is right. We are yet to see how different sectors of the national economy will be affected by the Covid-19 crisis, this country's Minister of Economy Emil Karanikolov told the Bulgarian National Radio. 

Bulgaria's Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov has confirmed that Bulgaria is continuing its plan to enter the ERM-2 exchange rate mechanism. One of the commercial banks in the country still need to comply with the European Central Bank's recommendations for additional capital buffers. In doing so, Bulgaria will meet the requirements for applying to join the European Banking Union and ERM-2.

Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev met Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) Dimitar Radev on February 13. The focus of the meeting was Bulgaria's announced intention to join the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II), which is the first mandatory step for joining the euro area, BNT reported.

The low per-capita income on average represents the biggest issue regarding Romania's real convergence in view of joining the Eurozone (EZ), however, it's not a a formal criterion for euro accession, experts with the European Central Bank (ECB) believe.