If Bulgaria does not adopt the euro quickly it risks staying in the "Eurozone waiting room" for a long time, caretaker Minister of Finance Rositsa Velkova said in an interview for the BNR. In her words, July 1, 2024 is a possible date for the adoptiion of the single currency.

"If the 49th National Assembly puts the accession to the Eurozone on its priority list, it can adopt the necessary legislation, including amendments to the Law on the Bulgarian National Bank, the Commercial Code and the Insurance Code. Then we could submit a request for an extraordinary convergence report in July.

At the beginning of the 49th National Assembly, the caretaker government will submit a draft budget for 2023, said Minister Velkova. Estimates indicate that the budget will have a deficit of 6%. In her words, it is a matter of political decisions to lower the deficit to 3% of the GDP to meet the Maastricht criteria.

Minister Velkova stressed that there should be a broad information campaign before a possible referendum on the euro.