The European Commission on Wednesday gave Bulgaria the green light to use the euro, with the government in Sofia now set to introduce the common currency in January 2026.

A commission report concluded that after reducing inflation Bulgaria fulfils all requirements for becoming the 21st European Union country to use the common currency.

“The euro is a tangible symbol of European strength and unity,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“Thanks to the euro, Bulgaria’s economy will become stronger, with more trade with euro area partners, foreign direct investment, access to finance, quality jobs and real incomes,” she said.

Bulgaria has been a member of the EU since 2007 and had previously planned to replace its national currency, the lev, with the euro in 2024, but the adoption was postponed due to a comparatively high inflation rate of 9.5% at the time.

The commission recently said it expects an inflation rate of 3.6% for Bulgaria in the current year and 1.8% in 2026.

Fellow EU countries – including those not using the euro – and the European Parliament still have to give their consent to Bulgaria, which is seen as highly likely.

According to the EU treaties, all EU member states with the exception of Denmark are obliged to join the eurozone as soon as they fulfil the requirements.

Apart from Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Hungary have yet to introduce the single currency.

Croatia was the last country to join the euro, in January 2023.

The criteria for joining include price stability, sound public finances and stable exchange rates.

The European Central Bank (ECB) and the commission regularly review the progress made by the euro candidate countries.

Protests in Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, the possible introduction of the euro has been accompanied by fierce protests.

On Saturday supporters of pro-Russian and nationalist parties demonstrated against adoption of the euro in Sofia and in other cities.

In February nationalists set fire to the entrance of the EU representation in the capital and poured red paint on the glass façade of the building and threw Molotov cocktails and eggs. Six people were arrested.

The pro-Russian nationalist opposition party Vazrazhdane (Bulgarian for “revival”) had previously participated in a protest rally in front of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB).

Vazrazhdane accuses the national bank of falsifying data in order to enable the introduction of the euro. The party fears Bulgaria would lose its national sovereignty when it drops the lev.

Euro opponents call for referendum

Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov called for a referendum on keeping the lev.

Activists collected 604,000 signatures in favour of a referendum. However, the Bulgarian parliament has twice rejected a referendum on the currency issue – in 2023 and recently in May 2025.

According to an opinion poll conducted by the Bulgarian Mjara institute in May, more than half of adults (54.9%) are against the introduction of the euro in 2026, while 34.4% are in favour of joining.

According to a survey conducted by the Gallup International Balkan Institute in the second half of May, 33.4% see “benefits” in the introduction of the euro. However 32.9% fear “rather disadvantages.” 22.6% expect neither benefits nor disadvantages.