Vice President Yotova: Bulgaria’s Eurozone Membership Still On Track for 2026
Vice President Iliana Yotova expressed optimism that Bulgaria could join the eurozone next year
Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's has confirmed earlier information and lowered the ratings of nine eurozone member countries, including France.
All euro zone states have their outlook also moved to negative, except Germany and Slovakia.
France has had its credit rating downgraded from AAA to AA+, a move that had been feared for months, but had been dismissed by President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Two of the other largest EU economies had their ratings also reduced: Italy from A to BBB+, Spain from AA- to A.
Austria also experienced, like France, a downgrade from the highest AAA rating to AA+.
The other countries with reduced ratings are Cyprus, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia.
EU national and European-level leaders, including Economy Commissioner Olli Rehn have dismissed the announcement as "untimely."
At the same, Standard & Poor's argued that in the past months the EU and eurozone member countries have not done enough to tackle the debt crisis.
In Krivodol, a municipality in Northwestern Bulgaria, local authorities are taking steps toward the eurozone transition well ahead of the February 20 deadline
Boyko Borissov, leader of GERB, defended the government’s progress on Bulgaria’s path to the eurozone
Bulgaria could adopt the euro as its official currency from January 1, 2026, if it successfully meets the necessary criteria for joining the eurozone
The municipal councils in Kozloduy and Krivodol have become the first in Bulgaria to implement dual pricing for municipal services, taxes, and fees
Bulgaria’s draft budget for 2024 raises questions about its realism and whether it is a mere strategy to appease the European Commission and the European Central Bank
Parvomay Municipality in Bulgaria has become one of the first to prepare for the country’s euro adoption
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