Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Business suffers severe damage from Bulgaria's delayed membership in the Eurozone and Schengen

Bulgaria's Minister of Finance Assen Vassilev
Photo: BGNES-archive

''The loss from Bulgaria's delayed membership in the Eurozone and Schengen is between 4% and 5% of the country's GDP'', Bulgaria’s Minister of Finance Assen Vassilev said in an interview for Nova TV. ''The business loses between EUR 250 million and EUR 500 million just from currency conversion. Separately, delaying eurozone membership leads to higher interest rates and less investment'', Minister Vassilev said. 

The losses stemming from Bulgaria’s delayed membership in Schengen are also huge, Minister Vassilev said with regard to the government’s draft decree, according to which Bulgaria should include in an official document the date January 1, 2025, as a target date for adopting the euro. Assen Vassilev said that this act is necessary, because the caretaker cabinet had not written down the date January 1, 2024, as the target date for Eurozone membership, and because it had drafted a budget with a 6.4% deficit.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

"Flower in a Test Tube" – a biotechnology startup that tells the story of the power of the human spirit

"Flower in a Test Tube" is an innovative project that creates a new product using plant biotechnology. But it does more than that—it tells a story about the power of the human mind and heart. The idea comes from Petar Neftelimov, a young man born with..

published on 4/18/25 7:05 AM

Bulgarian household incomes outpace expenses in 2024: NSI data

The annual growth of incomes outpaced that of expenses in 2024. According to data from the National Statistical Institute, in 2024 the average annual total income per household member in Bulgaria reached 12,857 BGN (6,573.68 EUR) and increased by 18.5%..

published on 4/17/25 2:43 PM

The pig farming industry in Bulgaria is experiencing growth

The pig meat sector in Bulgaria is showing signs of growth. This was announced at the International Forum "Modern Trends in Pig Farming: Scientific, Market and Regulatory Aspects", held today in Stara Zagora. It was highlighted that 53% of the..

published on 4/15/25 3:18 PM