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Bulgaria to join euro area on 1 January 2026

ecb.europa.eu

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Re: Bulgaria to join euro area on 1 January 2026

#51

Post by lttlrck »

mynameisbob wrote: post #9
jmyeet wrote: post #2

This will likely come with a one-time significant increase in inflation, at least based on other European countries. When Germany converted to the Euro, the conversion rate was (IIRC) about ~2 DM to the Euro but from what I recall, a lot of everyday things went from costing 7 DM to 7 euro, effectively doubling in price. IIRC France was similar (ie ~6.5 francs to the Euro but 10 Francs went to 3 euro, etc). I've tried…

I was in Belgium the week the Belgian franc converted to Euros. I saw no price changes other than rounding up or down to the nearest Euro equivalent price. If memory serves some stores showed prices in both denominations for a while which would not have allowed for stealth inflation to happen. The currencies were pegged for a period before then so other than niche cases there really weren’t opportunities for massive…

I remember the rounding up in Germany. But that was the extent of it. It was a one time event and wasn't difficult to absorb.

Re: Bulgaria to join euro area on 1 January 2026

#52

Post by blahedo »

Random observation: I remember seeing the second round of euro bills and momentarily thinking, "EBPO? cool, but why did they add Cyrillic to the design?"

It was specifically for Bulgaria, the only EU country to use the Cyrillic alphabet. Eurozone membership was a distant thought at that point, but they knew they'd be in eventually. Now's the time!

Re: Bulgaria to join euro area on 1 January 2026

#53

Post by mc32 »

dkjaudyeqooe wrote: post #33
mc32 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also the experience of Greece not too far back and the austerity imposed by Germany is not quite forgotten. Varoufakis[1] can attest to its severity. The Greeks voted against it but Germany imposed its will. [1] https://jacobin.com/2025/07/yanis-varoufakis-on-the-legacy-o...

This is nonsense. Not mentioned is that Greece has borrowed excessively and had defaulted on its loans. A bailout was organized by the EU and IMF with terms that Greece had every opportunity to reject. No one forced anything on Greece. The referendum was not binding and political theater for the government of the time. That Greece accepted the terms reflected the reality that the alternative was much worse and would…

What choice did Greece have? Germany was not extending favorable terms, they were punitive, so what choice did they have but take the least awful choice? Syriza tried but Germany had the upper hand and of course didn't give an inch --though Syriza tried very hard.

Varoufakis would argue the severe terms imposed by the creditors/negotiators exacerbated the fiscal issue. Yes Greece had issues but the creditors's terms exacerbated the problem, made things worse.

It's kind of like borrowing from a loan shark to pay off debts --on average, you're better off not. But hey, once you take it, you either pay up, or you lose something dear to you.

Re: Bulgaria to join euro area on 1 January 2026

#54

Post by alexey-salmin »

keiferski wrote: post #31

One of the biggest effects of this will probably be increased Western tourism to the resort cities on the Black Sea coast. Which is good, I guess, for the local economy - but I did really enjoy how Burgas felt different from the typical Western coastal resort city when I visited. I hope it doesn’t lose that uniqueness as it integrates into the wider EU economy.

I haven't been to Burgas but Montenegro still feels rather different IMO. Probably it has to do more with local culture and with GDP per capita rather than the currency itself (even though you're right that the latter may slowly evolve thanks to easier inflow of money).

Re: Bulgaria to join euro area on 1 January 2026

#56

Post by mrtksn »

petesergeant wrote: post #10
isodev wrote: post #3

Nice. It’s amazing to see the progress Bulgarians have made in the last 20 years after joining the EU. I can imagine it hasn’t been an easy process.

Two things that surprised me when I spent a couple of months in Bulgaria: * Bulgarian support for the EU is pretty low and people didn't think it made their life much better * Bulgarian support for Russia is very high, like 50%, probably due to their historic help in kicking out the Turks

It’s also more of a generation thing though. The older people are nostalgic about the past and their youth and for a country that experienced 2 decades of very low birth rates that’s the 70s and 80s and those years are under the communist rule and very good years for Bulgaria as the country was experiencing economic boom from computers and electronics manufacturing.

Also, under under the Communist rule supported by USSR, they indoctrinated people into a version of history that Turks are the absolute evil, and Russians are the absolute angels saving them from the ottomans.

I.e. in pre-EU era it was called Ottoman slavery, later they start calling it Ottoman era as it was more accurate as Ottoman’s system was based on collecting taxes and resources from the conquered places when giving them plenty of autonomy. Obviously not ideal but far from slavery.

Re: Bulgaria to join euro area on 1 January 2026

#57

Post by flimflamm »

decimalenough wrote: post #22

Credit where credit is due: the EU gets a lot of flack for being bureaucratic, hidebound, sclerotic, whatever, but the single currency has been a success and it's still expanding, 26 years after its creation. Also, the addition of Bulgaria means it's almost possible to travel from Spain to Greece entirely through the Eurozone, with only a thin sliver of Serbia or Macedonia in the way. (Assuming we include Montenegro…

Except if you are a Finnish person who lives right next to Sweden (SEK) and Norway (NOK) who are not using Euro (and Russia but that's a different story).

Re: Bulgaria to join euro area on 1 January 2026

#58

Post by Ygg2 »

spookie wrote: post #30
mc32 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also the experience of Greece not too far back and the austerity imposed by Germany is not quite forgotten. Varoufakis[1] can attest to its severity. The Greeks voted against it but Germany imposed its will. [1] https://jacobin.com/2025/07/yanis-varoufakis-on-the-legacy-o...

You know, there's Greece and Portugal. Mentioning these two as they got Troika following them. Portugal managed to get out of the storm, and debt is now below GDP. Greece took many bad steps trying to recover. And its debt shows that. Their governments have had a big part of the blame. Hell, at one point they didnt have enough money for citizens to withdraw from banks. And that was before Troika.

> And its debt shows that. Their governments have had a big part of the blame. Hell, at one point they didnt have enough money for citizens to withdraw from banks.

Sure but so do the creditors. If you keep giving mortgages to anyone with a drivers license that's on you buddy.

At almost no point is there enough money for citizens to withdraw their money. Modern banks don't keep their assets as cash.

Re: Bulgaria to join euro area on 1 January 2026

#59

Post by t_tsonev »

ingohelpinger wrote: post #49
jmyeet wrote: post #2

This will likely come with a one-time significant increase in inflation, at least based on other European countries. When Germany converted to the Euro, the conversion rate was (IIRC) about ~2 DM to the Euro but from what I recall, a lot of everyday things went from costing 7 DM to 7 euro, effectively doubling in price. IIRC France was similar (ie ~6.5 francs to the Euro but 10 Francs went to 3 euro, etc). I've tried…

exactly, Bulgarian here, born in Germany in 1988, so I lived with the DM and then experienced the Euro throughout my entire life, until 2023 when I decided to go back to BG. The Euro will make BG a debt slave on Germanys and France terms. Watch critical infrastructure being sold to China or who knows, just like Greece had to do it.

Finally, some quality fearmongering on Hacker News /s

Re: Bulgaria to join euro area on 1 January 2026

#60

Post by crossroadsguy »

decimalenough wrote: post #22

Credit where credit is due: the EU gets a lot of flack for being bureaucratic, hidebound, sclerotic, whatever, but the single currency has been a success and it's still expanding, 26 years after its creation. Also, the addition of Bulgaria means it's almost possible to travel from Spain to Greece entirely through the Eurozone, with only a thin sliver of Serbia or Macedonia in the way. (Assuming we include Montenegro…

I have always felt it was a mistake allowing countries inside the EU but not the currency. But when one looks at the dates - and they are 6 years apart - it becomes clear why. I wonder how it would have turned out had Euro and EU been launched together. Would it have been "a package" or optional?
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