If Bulgaria meets the criteria for the eurozone, there are no obstacles to introducing the euro from January 1, 2026, sources from Brussels told BNR, reports BNR. "Now.bg.news". For now, Bulgaria alone does not meet the price stability criterion. The decision must be made by the EU Council and is expected to happen during the summer, the national radio reports.

Bulgaria has already expressed its intention to request an extraordinary convergence report on meeting the eurozone criteria. Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazhkov said this would happen after the Eurogroup meeting on February 17.

The reason is that such reports are prepared once every two years. Brussels confirmed that at the next meeting, the new Bulgarian government and the new Finance Minister Temenushka Petkova have the ambition to inform their colleagues from the eurozone how the country meets the criteria. However, no decision will be made at the meeting itself.

"There is no deadline for assessing our preparedness. In any case, we need to wait for the Eurostat assessment, which will be published in the spring," the media reported.