Convergence report 2025 on Bulgaria

The euro is meant to be the single currency of the European Union as a whole. It is currently used every day by around 350 million people in the 20 Member States of the euro area. The practical benefits include more stable prices, lower transaction costs for people and businesses, more transparent and competitive markets and increased intra-EU and international trade. The euro is also the second most used currency worldwide. Article 140(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) requires the Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) to report to the Council, at least once every two years, or at the request of a Member State with a derogation1, on the progress that Member States have made in fulfilling their obligations to achieve economic and monetary union. The latest Commission and ECB convergence reports were adopted in June 2024. The 2025 Convergence Report on Bulgaria has been prepared in response to a request for a convergence assessment from Bulgaria, submitted on 25 February 2025. The staff working document accompanying this report provides a more detailed assessment of the state of convergence in Bulgaria2. Article 140(1) TFEU requires the reports to include an examination of the compatibility of national legislation, including the statutes of national central banks, with Articles 130 and 131 TFEU and the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank ('the ESCB/ECB Statute'). The reports must also examine whether a high degree of sustainable convergence has been achieved in the Member State concerned by means of: (i) referring to the fulfilment of the four convergence criteria (price stability, public finances, exchange rate stability and long-term interest rates); and (ii) taking account of other factors relevant to economic integration and convergence mentioned in the final subparagraph of Article 140(1) TFEU. The four convergence criteria are developed further in a protocol annexed to the Treaties (Protocol No 13 on the convergence criteria).