site.btaVice President Iotova: Since 2007 Bulgarian Governments Have Been Committed to Bulgaria's Eurozone Membership

Work on Bulgaria's eurozone membership has been an irrevocable commitment of all Bulgarian governments since 2007 and of all institutions, said Vice President Iliana Iotova at a conference, titled "Bulgaria in the Eurozone: Advantages and Opportunities", organized by Confederation of Industrialists and Employers in Bulgaria, dir.bg and the Executive Agency for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises, in Sofia on Friday.

In Yotova's words, the actual work and the beginning of the final straight in the process of our accession to the euro area has started in 2018. The Vice President thanked the management of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) for the successful work it has done over the past four years. The BNB has been involved in taking more than 200 important decisions regarding the euro, Yotova said, noting the successful work of the caretaker government in an extremely complex situation.

Just three days ago, Bulgaria signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the production of euro coins with the European Commission (EC) and the Eurogroup, which is an important step and allows the country to start minting and producing euro coins as soon as it receives approval to join the euro area, Yotova said. She said that this is the second significant step after 2020, when Bulgaria was accepted into the euro area waiting room and when we became part of the European Banking Union.

The euro has withstood all the crises in recent decades and today 77% of EU citizens approve of the European currency, according to a new Eurobarometer survey, Iotova said. According to her, one big mistake in connection with Bulgaria's accession to the euro area is the missing conversation with the Bulgarian society on the issue. Lack of awareness is the most nourishing environment for scepticism and doubts, it leads to uncertainty and very easily falling into the clutches of conspiracy theories. The latest Gallup survey in Bulgaria shows that 56% of Bulgarians have very serious doubts about the euro, Yotova said. This, she said, means that we have a lot of work ahead of us to clarify to Bulgarian citizens the questions they ask themselves on a daily basis.