Bulgaria to become the 21st country to join the euro, deepening EU ties

On New Year’s Day, Bulgaria becomes the 21st country to join the euro currency union, furthering its integration into the European Union.

But the historic milestone arrives amid political instability and skepticism among ordinary people fueled by fears of price rises.

Supporters of switching to the euro from the old currency, the lev, are praising the move as one of the greatest achievements since the 1989 transition from a Soviet-style economy to democracy and free markets.

They hope it will make the country more attractive for investors and strengthen its orientation toward wealthier Western Europe.

But many people are uneasy, in a country where corruption is rife and trust in the authorities is low.

One fear is that merchants will round prices up or otherwise use the changeover to worsen inflation, at a time when inflation has rebounded to 3.7%.

An EU Eurobarometer poll from March showed that 53% of 1,017 people surveyed opposed joining the eurozone, while 45% were in favor.

A separate Eurobarometer poll, taken between Oct. 9 and Nov. 3 on a similar sample, showed that about half of Bulgarians opposed the single currency while 42% were in favor.

The margin of error was about plus or minus 3.1 percentage points for the March poll.

The government successfully completed the euro adoption process by beating inflation down to 2.7% earlier this year to comply with EU rules and win approval from EU leaders.

But clearing that hurdle was followed by a new chapter of political chaos. The government resigned after less than a year in office amid nationwide anti-corruption protests.

This left the country without a regular budget for next year and is hampering plans for long-overdue structural reforms and decisions on use of EU support funds. A new election — the eighth in five years — is expected to be held next spring.

Countries that join the EU commit to the euro, but actually joining can take years and some members are in no hurry. Poland in particular has seen strong economic growth since joining the EU in 2004 without adopting the euro.