Upon his arrival at the Eurogroup meeting in Sofia on Friday 27 April, Pierre Moscovici, the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, said that Bulgaria would be the next member of the Eurozone, but called for its accession not to be rushed, to ensure successful integration.
“If we rush too much, then we create an accession to the euro which is not perfect”, the Commissioner said. Moscovici stressed the need for Sofia to meet the convergence and Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) criteria for two years, the latter mechanism aiming to maintain exchange rates stable between the euro and the national currencies. He did, however, welcome the determination of the Bulgarian authorities to adopt the single currency. “Bulgaria must be really determined” he added.
Readers may recall that Vladislav Goranov, the Bulgarian finance minister, announced in January that by June, the Bulgarian government would take another step towards joining the Eurozone by applying to join the ERM II (see EUROPE 11937). Following a meeting with Valdis Dombrovskis, the Commissioner for the euro, Prime Minister Borissov said on Thursday 26 April that Bulgaria could be able to join this mechanism within a year, Reuters reports. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)