EU Commissioner Dombrovskis: Adopting the Euro Is Important for Small and Open Economies Like Bulgaria

The adoption of the euro is important for small and open economies like Bulgaria which rely on exports, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, who is in charge of the Euro and Social Dialogue, said in Sofia on Tuesday. Dombrovskis said this is also important for the Bulgarian tourist industry, and noted that 2018 was a boom year for the sector.

He was speaking at the 13th Annual Conference "Government Meets the Business," which was also attended by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.

Dombrovskis expressed his satisfaction with the fact that Bulgaria is firmly set on the path of joining the Eurozone. For 20 years now, the single European currency has been strong, stable and convenient to use, he said. The Commissioner is aware that the majority of Bulgarians favour the adoption of the euro in their country. On the other hand, much work remains to be done in explaining the advantages of the euro to the Bulgarian people, so that they will be really convinced. This was not done, for example, in Latvia before the country joined the Eurozone, but now the Latvian people are convinced of the benefits associated with the euro and welcome its use.

The challenges which confronted Latvia in the process of acceding to the Eurozone were, in a sense, quite different from those facing Bulgaria now, Dombrovskis said. The Eurozone accession plan for Latvia was discussed while the country was in crisis and was emerging from an international credit programme for the period 2008-2011, so questions were raised about its preparedness. In this context it was very difficult to convince the people that the euro had to be adopted.

Source: BTA