Bulgaria is not yet ready to adopt the single European currency on account of a too-high inflation rate, the European Commission reported in Brussels on Wednesday.
Originally planned for the beginning of this year, the introduction of the euro has been postponed after inflation of 9.5% was recorded in the south-east European country last year.
The commission is working on the assumption that the inflation rate will fall to 3.1% this year compared with last year, according to its May economic forecast.
Countries joining the eurozone must meet criteria on price stability, public finances, exchange rate stability and long-term interest rates, which may not be more than two percentage points above the rates in the most stable EU countries in the year before the assessment.
All EU member states, with the exception of Denmark, are legally obliged to join the eurozone. Apart from Bulgaria, the countries yet to join are Poland, Romania, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
The commission reported that Bulgaria, which joined the European Union in 2007, was currently the only country fulfilling the criteria, apart from one, and where the national legal regulations were compatible with the currency union.
Eurozone membership could be politically contested in Bulgaria, as the pro-Russian and nationalist Revival party insists on a referendum on the issue.
The pro-EU alliances Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria-Union of Democratic Forces (GERB-SDS) and We Continue the Change–Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) are strongly in favour of accession to the eurozone.
On Wednesday, the Bulgarian central bank and the Finance Ministry said the country would fulfil the eurozone inflation criterion by the end of the year.
The transitional government approved a law on the introduction of the euro, also on Wednesday. It will have to be passed by the new parliament elected on June 9. The country is engaged in complex talks aimed at forming a new government.
