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Bulgaria will become the 21st member of the euro zone – or Schengen currency zone – on Thursday, despite deep skepticism among some in the country over inflation fears.
The southeastern European country has been a member of the European Union since 2007, but only formally met the criteria for entry into the euro zone in January 2025, paving the way for its currency to rise after a long delay.
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The move will increase the number of Europeans using the euro to 356 million and geographically extend the single currency to the Black Sea area for the first time, despite ongoing geopolitical tensions.
However, some Bulgarians fear that the adoption of the euro could cause an economic crisis in a country considered the poorest in the EU.
There is widespread distrust of government. In early December, the minority pro-EU coalition ruling the country was forced to resign after massive protests erupted against a proposed budget plan to introduce higher taxes. Despite the plan’s withdrawal, protests have expanded into demands for broader government change.
Here’s what we know about why Bulgaria’s decision to adopt the euro became so controversial:
What’s going on?
Bulgaria, a country of 6.7 million people, joined the EU in 2007 and has been working to join the eurozone ever since.
However, political instability has slowed progress on the reforms needed for the country to be accepted into the zone, as successive governments grapple with allegations of corruption.
According to the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, EU member states must meet five criteria before they can join the eurozone. These set fixed targets for inflation, budget deficit, debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio, exchange rate stability and long-term interest rates. Monetary policy is centrally controlled by the European Central Bank (ECB).
The EU finally gave the green light to Bulgaria’s ambitions in January 2025, after determining that it now met the economic and legislative criteria to join the eurozone. In June and July, the European institutions – the European Council, the Financial Affairs Council, both in Brussels, and the European Parliament in Strasbourg – agreed to membership.
How does membership of the euro zone take place?
The EU has set a conversion rate of 1 euro to 1.95583 Bulgarian lev (BGN) under the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, which Bulgaria joined in 2020 as a condition for adopting the euro. This decision officially linked the lev to the euro. However, the lev had already been informally pegged to the euro since 1999, when Germany adopted the currency. Indeed, Bulgaria linked its currency to the German mark in 1997 in order to stabilize its economy and curb the rise in inflation. Therefore, according to many analysts, the formal adoption of the single currency may not bring as big a change as some fear.
Furthermore, while Bulgarian companies will now be able to access the single euro market without new currency risks, researchers at the National Bank of Belgium estimate that more than 80 percent of Bulgarian imports have been denominated in euros since 1999.
Since joining the exchange rate mechanism in 2020, Bulgaria has been subject to ECB policy. Now she will have a seat on the bank’s board, giving the country a say in rating policy.
There will be a transition process for businesses and consumers. In-store prices will be displayed in leva and euros until August 2026, and leva will continue to be accepted until January 31.
For six months, Bulgarians will be able to exchange cash leva for euros at any commercial bank, post office or at the Bulgarian National Bank. Once old coins are collected, they are generally shredded and recycled.
Why are some Bulgarians skeptical about joining the Eurozone?
Bulgarians are quite divided on the question of joining the euro zone. Surveys conducted by the Bulgarian company Alpha Research showed that in May 2025, 46.5% supported the adoption of the euro, while 46.8% opposed it. According to pollsters, most opponents of the decision were residents of small towns and villages, often retirees or semi-educated people of working age and active on social media.
The main fears driving opposition to the euro are that the change will lead to higher prices, affect purchasing power and reduce wages, according to the survey.
Experiences in other countries have shown that “whenever there is a switch from the national currency to the euro, there is often a minor inflation effect, but it is usually less than 1 percent,” analyst Zsolt Darvas of the Brussels think tank Bruegel told the Associated Press news agency.
Speaking in Sofia, ECB President Christine Lagarde in November said the move to the euro would bring “smoother trade, lower financing costs and more stable prices”. She added that adopting the euro would have a “modest” impact on inflation, of 0.2 to 0.4 percent.
But many Bulgarians also fear that the move will lead to a loss of Bulgarian identity, as important figures currently appear on lev banknotes. Ivan Milev, for example, whose image appears on the 5 lev note, was a prominent painter of the early 20th century who helped shape Bulgarian modernism.
Bulgaria has had seven parliamentary elections in the past four years and many voters are concerned about the political establishment’s ability to manage change.
The ruling coalition, which was forced to step down in December after proposing a tax increase, was itself divided on the issue.
It was a fragile coalition of ideologically opposed groups, including the center-right, pro-European Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), the pro-Russian, post-communist Bulgarian Socialist Party-United Left (BSP-OL), and the conservative-nationalist There Is Such a People (ITN).
President Rumen Radev, backed by the BSP-OL and ITN, called for a referendum on the issue in June, citing the country’s lack of preparedness and provoking heated debates in Parliament. Lawmakers, however, rejected the move.
Political opposition groups, particularly pro-Russian parties that are ideologically opposed to further integration with the EU, argue that adopting the euro will affect Bulgaria’s financial sovereignty and make it too dependent on Brussels.
“Someone else will decide how we spend our money, the Bulgarian budget will be approved by the European Central Bank,” Kostadin Kostadinov, head of the pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party, told protesters calling for a referendum on the currency issue in June. “It’s an anti-state coup, it’s a betrayal,” he added.
Kostadinov and other far-right politicians were also accused of spreading false claims that the savings of ordinary Bulgarians would disappear as a result of the change, while Russian online networks allegedly amplified similar narratives, according to Euronews reports.
“I am against it, firstly because the lev is our national currency,” Emil Ivanov, a retiree from Sofia, told the Reuters news agency. “Secondly, Europe is heading towards extinction, which even the US president mentioned in the new national security strategy.
“I may not be alive when this [the EU’s demise] it happens, but that’s where it all happens,” she added.
Euroscepticism is increasing across the continent as far-right political parties gain influence. Nearly a third of European voters now support far-right parties, compared to just 3% in the mid-2000s, according to the London-based Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR).
However, despite the distrust, many Bulgarians are happy to join the eurozone, especially companies that trade across borders and those working in the tourism sector. Government billboards in Sofia display the message: “Common past. Common future. Common currency.”
Are EU member states obliged to adopt the euro?
Yes, all 27 EU member states are legally required to use the euro, although there is no specific deadline for adopting it. Members have the right to postpone adoption and set their own deadlines, and the EU publishes its own report every two years assessing members’ readiness to join the eurozone.
In January 2023, Croatia became the last EU country to adopt the euro, abandoning its kuna at the rate of 1 euro for 7.53 kuna (KN). It joined the EU in 2013.
Six EU members are still not part of the eurozone: Poland (which has the zloty), Denmark (the crown), Hungary (the forint), Romania (leu), Sweden (the crown) and the Czech Republic (the crown).
Most chose to hold their currencies to maintain their independence from the ECB on key issues, such as growth rates, inflation management or national debt, and to be able to choose to devalue their currencies. Only the Romanian government has set a deadline for joining the single currency at 2027 or 2028.
Under the terms of the 1992 Edinburgh Agreement, Denmark was the only member to have a special opt-out agreement with the EU after Danish voters rejected the Maastricht Treaty in a referendum, voting instead to retain the crown. A second referendum on membership of the euro zone in 2000 resulted in a new “no” vote from 53.2% of voters.
The UK, which was an EU member until 2020, was granted an opt-out when negotiating the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, and has never adopted the euro.
When it was created in 1999, 1 euro was worth approximately 1.17 dollars, it is currently worth 1.18 dollars. Compared to the pound sterling, the euro was initially set at around 0.70 pounds, while the current rate is around 0.87 pounds.
