Report on Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro on 1 January 2026

Decision

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs adopted the report and the draft legislative resolution approving the Commission proposal that Bulgaria adopt the euro on 1 January 2026; the committee vote was 46 in favour, 3 against and 5 abstentions and the committee adopted the report on 24 June 2025. Parliament’s resolution asks the President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission, the European Central Bank and the Eurogroup.

What Changes

The Parliament’s approval supports lifting Bulgaria’s derogation and enables its accession to the euro area as the twenty‑first member, based on the Commission and ECB convergence assessments. Those reports cite specific findings including average inflation of 2.7% versus a 2.8% reference value, a 2024 deficit of 3.0% of GDP and gross debt of 24.1%, two years in ERM II with no deviation, an average long‑term interest rate of 3.9% below a 5.1% reference value, and remaining challenges on AML/CFT and rule‑of‑law issues; they also note RRP and cohesion support of €5.7 billion and €10.7 billion respectively.

Who Is Affected

The decision directly affects Bulgaria and its entry into the euro area and involves EU institutions including the Council, Commission, ECB and Member State governments, while bearing on Bulgaria’s banking and financial sectors and beneficiaries of EU recovery and cohesion funding.