Sofia Municipality is setting up a dedicated working group tasked with converting all local taxes, fees, and service prices from Bulgarian leva to euros. The move comes as part of the broader national preparation for Bulgaria’s entry into the eurozone. According to the Chairman of the Sofia Municipal Council, Tsvetomir Petrov, the group will examine and propose updates to the municipality’s regulatory framework, which currently specifies financial values exclusively in the national currency.

The scope of this task is significant, covering a wide array of municipal acts - ordinances, regulations, and other legal documents that define the costs of public services and obligations for residents. With the adoption of the euro, every figure must be recalculated and reflected accordingly in euros.

Petrov stressed that Sofia Municipality has a responsibility to set a positive example during the transition, particularly when it comes to concerns over price increases. On the contrary, he said, the goal is to ensure that adjustments are made in a way that benefits citizens. He illustrated this with the price of public transport: the current fare for a single ride is 1.60 leva, which converts to approximately 82 euro cents. However, such a figure might not be practical in everyday use, and Petrov suggested rounding it down to 80 cents—a move that, in effect, would slightly reduce the price.

He added that this is only a preliminary proposal, and it will be up to the working group to conduct a thorough review of all municipal charges and assess how their conversion to euros would affect the city’s budget. The aim, he said, is to make sure the transition is smooth, transparent, and, where possible, advantageous for the people of Sofia.