Balkan country will become 21st country to adopt EU currency, with policymakers hoping move will boost economy
Bulgaria is preparing to adopt the euro in January amid fresh domestic political turbulence and fears that Russia-aligned disinformation is deepening distrust of the new currency.
The Balkan country of 6.5 million people will become the 21st country to join the eurozone on 1 January, as policymakers in Brussels and Sofia hope it will boost the economy of the EU’s poorest nation and cement its pro-western trajectory.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has said that “thanks to the euro”, Bulgaria will have more trade, more investment and more “quality jobs and real incomes”.
On a recent visit to Sofia, the economy commissioner, Valdis Dombrovskis said the move was key at a time of Russia’s war with Ukraine, rising geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainty that “underline the importance of European unity”.
