Romania and the euro

Bulgaria faces significant challenges on its path to euro adoption, with political instability emerging as a critical hurdle rather than inflation. While inflation rates have shown signs of cooling—decreasing by 1% from August to September and 1.2% year-on-year—Bulgaria still has not met all the Maastricht criteria necessary for eurozone entry.

The adoption of the euro remains an unattainable goal for Romania due to its persistent fiscal deficit, according to Mugur Isărescu, Governor of the National Bank of Romania (NBR), as cited by local media. Romania's deficit stood at 5.68% last year, one of the highest in the European Union, a figure that far exceeds the requirements for adopting the single currency.

Romania's public debt is nearing the critical threshold of 60% of GDP, as outlined by the Maastricht criteria, further distancing the country from its goal of adopting the euro. According to the "Ziare" information site, cited by BTA, Romania's public debt stood at 52.6% of GDP by the end of May, marking a 3.8% increase from December 2023.

Eurobarometer data reveals significant insights into Bulgarian attitudes towards adopting the euro, highlighting both optimism and skepticism among the population. According to the survey, 71% of Bulgarians anticipate their country joining the Eurozone within the next five years, marking a notable increase of 9 percentage points since April 2023.

Bulgaria is expected to adopt the euro at the beginning of 2026, rather than mid-next year as previously forecasted. This update was provided by acting Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Ludmila Petkova, who emphasized the need for technological time to meet the final criterion for euro adoption.

None of the countries that have yet to join the euro meet all accession criteria and many have even diverged from the long-set rules of euro membership, the European Central Bank has said in a report on prospective members.

The EU on Wednesday predicted lower inflation in the eurozone in 2024 than previously forecast but warned the single-currency area's economy still faced risks from geopolitical tensions including wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

The government adopted an update of the National Plan for the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria.

The changes in the Plan were developed and approved by the Coordination Council for the preparation of Bulgaria for membership in the Eurozone, which is co-chaired by the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank.

Bucharest, Aug 25 /Agerpres/ - The Memorandum of Understanding proposed by the Ministry of Investment and European Projects (MIPE) for the collaboration between the Government of Romania and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support European-funded projects 2021-2027 was approved on Wednesday, in the Government's meeting, according to a release sent to AGERPRES.

Romania has the highest percentage of respondents with a positive opinion about the introduction of the European single currency - 75 percent, found the latest Flash Eurobarometer survey released on Friday, which shows that the switch to the euro enjoys broad support in EU member states that have not yet adopted it.