The Bulgarian society is cut in two over the recent calls for immediate introduction of the European single currency, a new survey on EU's actions in the face of the economic and financial crisis shows.

Bulgaria is no exception as respondents in all the eight countries, which are required to adopt the euro, are split when asked whether the process of euro adoption should be accelerated, slowed down, maintained or stopped, the Eurobarometer survey found out.

A total of 29% of the respondents think it should be accelerated, 29% think it should be slowed down, 19% think it should go ahead as planned and 6% think it should be stopped.

The majority of Europeans (44%) think that the euro has not mitigated the crisis, opposed to 39% who think that it has effectively cushioned the fallout of the crisis, according to the survey.

The shares of respondents who agree about the positive role of the euro are highest in Slovakia (66%), Finland (61%) and Belgium (54%).

The belief that the euro did not help against the negative effects of the crisis is present in the Czech Republic (56% think so), Germany and the UK (54%).

In Bulgaria and Romania, the two countries that joined the European block most recently, the share of "don't know" answers is very high - 51% and 41% respectively.

The survey comes on the heels of International Monetary Fund calls that central and eastern European countries consider scrapping their currencies in favour of the euro even without formally joining the eurozone.

In a confidential IMF report, which leaked earlier in the month, the fund said the eurozone could relax its entry rules so countries could join as quasi-members, without European Central Bank board seats.

Bulgaria's entry in the eurozone, initially scheduled for 2010, has been set back for some time around 2012. Experts say it is conditional on continued fiscal prudence and lower inflation.

In fact, Bulgaria has yet to join the Exchange Rate Mechanism, the "waiting room" for euro membership, amid concerns about its inflation rates and external trade imbalances. Stricter application of membership criteria has also been a factor in the delay.

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