Bulgaria’s entry was enabled by its compliance with the convergence criteria and its accession will strengthen its economic integration with its euro area partners. However, it still has institutional and structural challenges to face if it is to accelerate its economic catch-up, France’s central bank said in a release.
After joining EU in 2007, Bulgaria adopted the euro on January 1, 2026, and became the 21st member of the euro area.
Bulgaria’s entry was enabled by its compliance with the convergence criteria and its accession will strengthen its economic integration in the zone.
It still has institutional and structural challenges to face if it is to accelerate its economic catch-up, France’s central bank said.
As Bulgaria now meets all the criteria according to assessments carried out by the European Commission and the European Central Bank, the European Council approved the country’s official entry into the euro area on July 8, 2025.
The elimination of exchange rate risk by lowering transaction and financing costs will encourage trade, tourism and investment.
The last country to join the euro area was Croatia in 2023.
In 2024, 45 per cent of Bulgarian goods and services exports went to the euro area, while the euro area accounted for more than 40 per cent of Bulgaria’s imports.
In terms of financial flows, 64 per cent of Bulgaria’s stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) was located in the euro area in 2024, while 76 per cent of the stock of FDI in Bulgaria came from the euro area, and particularly from the Netherlands, at the end of 2023.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)