The development of the single European currency has faced obstacles. Despite the desire of the two new countries, the European Commission and the European Central Bank rejected their efforts to join the euro zone, writes the Financial Times.
The European Commission and the European Central Bank announced on Wednesday that Romania and Bulgaria do not meet the criteria for adopting the euro. The Black Sea countries are among the poorest in the community and have been trying to join the eurozone for years. According to EU institutions, they are hampered by excessive inflation and doubts about whether their institutions are strong enough to fight corruption and money laundering.
Bulgaria and Romania want to follow in the footsteps of Croatia, which joined the euro zone in 2023 as the twentieth country to adopt the single EU currency. The first of these countries is certainly closer to this goal.
The Bulgarian lev is pegged to the euro, and the country's largest banks are supervised by the ECB. In addition, the country has maintained relatively low levels of debt and budget deficits over the years. However, the introduction of the euro was hampered by inflation, which currently averages 5.1 percent.
According to the Financial Times, the country's previous government had hoped that the ECB and the European Commission would give it a discount as local prices were expected to stabilize later this year. According to such a scenario, the EU currency could be introduced there as early as 2025.
The European Union's executive body agreed to reassess Bulgaria's request rather than wait for the next regular review, which would have taken place in 2026. According to the European Central Bank, in addition to overcoming inflation, the country must also strengthen the anti-money laundering system.
Bulgarian citizens themselves are divided when it comes to the introduction of the euro. According to the Financial Times, the latest polls show that 49 percent of the country's population supports the introduction of the EU currency, but at the same time, a similar percentage is against it.
Meanwhile, despite a relatively better economic situation than Bulgaria, Romania is still far from adopting the euro, driven by inflation and debt. The country's budget deficit reached 6.6 percent of GDP in 2023, which significantly exceeds the 3 percent limit adopted by the EU, and the country is subject to the excessive deficit procedure from 2022.
Inflation in Romania is one of the highest in the entire EU, reaching 5.1 percent in May, and an annual average of 7.6 percent. Last year, the country set the goal of introducing the euro by 2029, but even the country's president doubts this date. According to a survey conducted by the European Commission in 2023, 58 percent of Romanians were in favor of the introduction of the euro.
