The Bulgarian Lesson: How the neighbouring country has managed to get ahead of Romania in its journey towards adopting the Euro in 2026. Where did things go wrong?

Sunday, Feb 23, 2025

HotNews

Analysis of EU member states’ varying paths to adopting the euro, highlighting Bulgaria’s plans and Romania’s delays.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007, both exited the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism in 2023, and are now full members of the Schengen area. Their paths diverge regarding the euro zone; Romania is expected to join around 2035, while Bulgaria has made joining a key priority under its new government, aiming for potential adoption by January 1, 2026, though progress faces scrutiny. Other EU member states like Czechia and Hungary show hesitation or opposition despite economic ties, Poland lacks an official timeline with public resistance, Denmark opted out of the euro zone, and Sweden’s population voted against adopting it in a referendum. Economists note that while some countries meet macroeconomic criteria, others lag significantly in real convergence with the eurozone.

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