Dombrovskis: The EC supports Bulgaria’s Entry into the Eurozone, but the Failure to Meet the Inflation Criterion is too great

“The European Commission definitely supports Bulgaria's entry into the Eurozone, as far as the specific map is concerned, the Maastricht criteria must be met, including stability, etc. These criteria are covered, but as far as inflation is concerned, this is subject to assessment by EC experts and this assessment has shown that the inflation criterion will not be able to be covered.”

This was stated by the Vice-President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, to Nova TV.

“So there has to be a delay, I hope it won't be too long,” he added.

“With Croatia, an analysis of the statistical values that are out of the norm was done, this is a standard procedure that applies to all countries in the Eurozone, because all countries follow the same inflation trend, when in some countries inflation is lower, they are excluded from the analysis. We are currently discussing Bulgaria for inflation criteria, so these values will be excluded as we will apply the same methodology. This analysis showed that the inflation gap was too large,” Dombrovskis stressed.

Asked if the possible date for us to join the Eurozone is July 1, 2024, he said that date is when all the Maastricht criteria are met. "And when all the conditions are met, including the commitments in the period after the European Monetary Mechanism. I wouldn't specify a specific date," specified Dombrovskis. “January 1, 2025 is a possible date for Bulgaria's accession to the Eurozone,” he pointed out.

“Joining the euro brings serious benefits, more financial stability, lower interest rates, transparency for businesses. These are all benefits that contribute to the economic development of the country,” explained the EC vice-president.

“Bulgaria is not the country with the highest inflation in Eastern Europe. First, energy prices must be tamed,” Dombrovskis recommended in relation to how to reduce inflation. “Second, measures to support the economy. The important thing is the fiscal policy, to work on it to reduce inflation, the support measures must be temporary and targeted, and Bulgaria's fiscal policies are very solid,” Dombrovskis stressed. “Attention must be paid to the fight against tax evasion, some more important laws must be adopted in Bulgaria to fight money laundering,” commented the Deputy Chairman of the EC.

Commenting on the “Magnitsky” list, Dombrovskis said that the sanctions were imposed by the US, "in the EU we have our own sanctions list against certain individuals, and national legislation must be properly applied."

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