25.04.2025

The Minister of Finance Temenuzhka Petkova held a meeting with the Ambassador of the Republic of France H. E. Joël Meyer. They discussed the strategic priorities of the government, the main one being the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria.

Minister Petkova presented our country’s progress in the process of joining the euro area. She underlined that all numerical criteria had been met, which was also confirmed by the latest Eurostat data. The extraordinary convergence reports of the European Commission and the European Central Bank are expected to be published in early June. An information campaign is already underway to explain the process and to present the benefits of adopting the single European currency for citizens and businesses. ‘The government continues its intensive work and will finalise all remaining activities related to the technical preparations. Our goal is to bring this process to a successful conclusion as soon as possible, as we expect our country to become a full-fledged member of the euro area by 1 January 2026’, Ms. Petkova pointed out.

The participants in the meeting also focused on Bulgaria’s accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). ‘The Ministry of Finance is the leading institution for 5 out of 25 technical reviews carried out by OECD committees. Three of them have been successfully completed and work on the remaining two is continuing without delay as per the approved timetable’, the Finance Minister said.

Ambassador Meyer assured Minister Petkova of France’s support for the implementation of the priorities of the Bulgarian government. ‘Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area, the euro area and the OECD is a positive sign for the stability of the country in political and economic terms. French companies see good prospects for the development of their activities here’, the Ambassador highlighted. He added that Bulgaria’s accession would strengthen the stability and cohesion of the euro area.

The meeting was also attended by the heads of the French-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. They presented their initiatives to promote the process of introducing the euro in the country among French businesses and to advertise Bulgaria as an investment destination.