Metodi Metodiev, Deputy Minister of Finance: “Euro area will bring not only economic but also institutional benefits for Bulgaria”

Deputy Minister of Finance Metodi Metodiev discussed Bulgaria's readiness to join the euro area and the effects for the country from adopting the euro at a meeting with the Chair of the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank Ms. Claudia Buch, the Chair of the EU Single Resolution Board Dominique Laboureix and the Deputy Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank Petar Chobanov.

"Joining the euro area will help our institutional convergence with the EU, which is an important element for the country's economy and for attracting investors", the Deputy Minister noted. He drew attention to the fact that this aspect of joining the euro area was not talked about very much in the Bulgarian society, but it could have a significant impact on the country's economic development.

During the meeting, Deputy Minister Metodiev highlighted that the country's fiscal policy had consistently kept deficits below 3%, and domestic inflation was currently on a downward trend. BNB Deputy Governor Petar Chobanov laid emphasis on the good shape of the banking sector in Bulgaria and paid attention to the fact that the Bulgarian economy had shown resilience and had been doing very well in recent years despite the series of crises and the tense geopolitical context.

"Recent surveys show public support for the adoption of the euro in Bulgaria, similar to the starting positions in other newly acceded countries. Data from a survey on the subject conducted by the Ministry of Finance a year ago show that businesses, banks and the civil sector strongly support this step", Mr. Metodiev said. The communication campaign will therefore be developed in the future in such a way so as to address the main concerns of the people, with countering misinformation on the topic and paying special attention to vulnerable groups of society being among its objectives.