Why Bulgaria Abandoned Its Goal to Join Euro in 2024
Bulgaria was planning to adopt the euro in 2024 in a bid to boost living standards in the bloc’s poorest member state. Along with Croatia, Bulgaria joined an exchange rate mechanism in preparation in 2020. But it fell behind Croatia, which became the euro area’s 20th member this year, and then abandoned the timetable entirely in February, citing continued political instability.
Bulgaria started working for euro membership soon after it joined the European Union in 2007 — as required under its accession treaty. But it put that on hold three years later amid the European sovereign debt crisis, which nearly bankrupted neighboring Greece and some other euro-area countries. In a renewed push since 2016, the government in Sofia has said that adopting the single currency would help the Balkan country avoid being sidelined in the EU’s decision-making process and further integrate its export-oriented economy.
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