Bulgaria has officially adopted the euro, becoming the 21st European Union member state to use the currency. This follows a decision made in July that set the conversion rate at 1.95583 Bulgarian lev per euro. Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), welcomed Bulgaria’s entry into the eurozone, highlighting it as a symbol of European unity and strength amid global geopolitical challenges.
The ECB marked this milestone by illuminating its main building in Frankfurt, celebrating the integration of 358 million Europeans using the euro. With Bulgaria’s entry, Българска народна банка (Bulgarian National Bank) joins the Eurosystem, and its governor gains a seat on the ECB Governing Council. The Bulgarian National Bank also becomes a full member of the Single Supervisory Mechanism after being part of close cooperation since October 2020.
The ECB is now directly supervising four significant institutions in Bulgaria and overseeing 17 less significant ones. It is responsible for licensing banks and assessing buyers of qualifying holdings in all banks. Additionally, Bulgarian National Bank has completed its capital contribution to the ECB and transferred its foreign reserve assets contribution.
Bulgarian entities can participate in ECB open market operations starting January 2026. A list of credit institutions subject to reserve requirements will soon be available on the ECB’s website. Assets meeting criteria will be added to eligible collateral lists for euro area operations.
As part of joining TARGET services, Bulgaria ensures cash, securities, and collateral flow across Europe through T2 for payments, T2S for securities settlement, TIPS for instant payments, and ECMS for collateral management. Settlement in T2S and TIPS has been possible since 2023 and 2024 respectively; all services are now active following a smooth migration process.
The new system of rotating voting rights in the ECB’s Governing Council is now effective.
