Bulgaria joins the euro after rocky path to new currency

ShareSaveNick ThorpeCentral Europe correspondentShareSaveReutersBulgarian shops have displayed prices in both lev and euros since AugustBulgaria - the poorest country in the European Union - has become the 21st member of the eurozone - leapfrogging more obvious and prosperous candidates like Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. For mostly urban, young and entrepreneurial Bulgarians, it's an optimistic and potentially lucrative leap - the final move in a game which has brought Bulgaria into the European mainstream - from Nato and EU membership, to joining the Schengen zone, and now the euro. For the older, rural, more conservative parts of the population, the replacement of the Bulgarian lev by the euro provokes fear and resentment. The lev - meaning lion - has been the Bulgarian currency since 1881, but it has been pegged to other European currencies since 1997 - first the Deutschmark, then the euro. Opinion polls put Bulgaria's 6.5 million population more or less equally divided on the new currency, and political turmoil is not making the transition easy. Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov's coalition government lost a confidence vote on 11 December, after mass protests against the 2026 budget. Bulgaria has held seven elections in the past four years - an eighth looks likely early next year. "I don't want the euro, and I don't like the way it has been imposed on us," Todor, 50, a small business owner in the central town of Gabrovo, at the foot of the Balkan mountains, told the BBC. "If there were a referendum, I reckon 70% of the people would vote against it." A referendum on euro adoption was proposed by President Rumen Radev but rejected by the outgoing government. Todor's business, producing coloured plastics for the domestic market, had a bad year because of high inflation, he said, and a fall in sales fuelled, he believed, by fear of the euro. Ognian Enev, 60, who owns a tea shop in central Sofia, was more enthusiastic. "On the whole, it's a good thing. It's just a technical change. It doesn't bother me," he told the BBC. In any case, he pointed out, people who bought flats or cars until now have got used to prices marked in euros. The 1.2 million Bulgarians who live outside the country have also been sending money home for years in euros. Like many shopkeepers, Ognian has the new currency ready, in coins and small denomination notes, ready for the transition. Throughout January, you can pay in both lev and euros, but change is supposed to be in euros. From 1 February, it will no longer be permitted to pay in lev. He hopes joining the single currency will be good for trade - many of his flavoured and fruit teas come from sellers in the eurozone, while the more expensive, high-end teas are imported direct from China and Japan. Since August 2025, all shops in Bulgaria have been required by law to display prices in both currencies. Conveniently, €1 is worth about two lev (1.95583 to be exact). In response to public fears that prices will be rounded up, elaborate watchdogs have been created, to protect consumers. And some prices have been rounded down: the cost of public transport in the capital Sofia is due to fall slightly. The design on the reverse side of the new eurocoins was chosen to overcome worries that Bulgaria is losing its sovereignty. St Ivan of Rila is on the €1 coin, Paisius of Hilendar, an 18th Century monk and champion of the national revival, is on the €2 coin. The smaller denomination eurocents carry an image of the Madara rider, a symbol of early Bulgarian statehood, based on an 8th Century rock relief. Just how the new currency will impact Bulgaria as a whole, concerns everyone. The lessons from other countries offer two versions - the successful "Baltic model" followed by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which combined the euro with reforms to streamline administration, encourage investment and combat corruption. And the "Italian model", where years of stagnation followed. "I'm afraid we'll be more like Italy," Ognian Enev predicted.