site.btaBNB Sets Aside Nearly BGN 110 Mln for Introduction of Euro in Bulgaria, to Mint 780 Million Euro Coins in 2023

The maintenance costs of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) for 2023 will amount to BGN 265.7 million, according to the central bank's budget for next year published on its website. Of these, BGN 109.6 million will be allocated for expenses on activities related to the preparation for the introduction of the euro as a legal tender in the Republic of Bulgaria.

BNB's maintenance costs in 2022 are expected to be close to BGN 134.8 million.

BNB's  investment programme for 2023 will amount to over BGN 97.4 million, of which nearly BGN 52.7 million is envisaged for the introduction of the euro. The central bank's investment programme for this year is planned with a budget of BGN 29.4 million, of which BGN 22.6 million will be spent.

Compared to the budget for 2022, the amount of subsistence expenses has been increased by nearly BGN 125 million, or by 88.5%, including BGN 109.6 million in expenses for the introduction of the euro.

The costs related to the maintenance of monetary circulation amount to a little over BGN 125 million, of which almost BGN 97.3 million are planned funds for the introduction of the euro. They represent 47.1% of the BNB's total maintenance costs for 2023 and increase by 282.3% compared to the approved funds for the 2022 budget.

The expenses for new banknotes amount to almost BGN 8.1 million, a decrease of 21.2% compared to the expenses according to the indicator in the BNB budget for 2022. The planned expenses are for printing 50 million banknotes with a denomination of BGN 50.

The costs for the production of new coins in 2023 have increased by 402.4% compared to those for 2022 and amount to more than BGN 108.6 million, including BGN 7 million for minting commemorative coins.