The parliamentary Committees on Budget and Finance, European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds, and Economic Policy and Tourism have discussed Bulgaria’s accession to the Eurozone and ERM II with representatives of the European Commission.

The agenda of the meeting included three important issues: the roadmap for deepening the European Economic and Monetary Union, the mechanism and instruments of convergence for countries that have not adopted the euro, but want to join the Eurozone, and the proposals for the next multiannual financial framework 2021 – 2027.

According to Budget and Finance Committee Chair Menda Stoyanova, Bulgaria is one of the countries in favour of the development of the European Economic and Monetary Union and wants to have a clear roadmap for this. Menda Stoyanova said that our country welcomed the new instruments proposed by the European Commission, because they would deepen the cohesion between EU member states, but it should be clear how those mechanisms would work in the future.

I welcome the fact that there is an active exchange between the European Commission and the national parliaments, and one of the reasons for this is the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, said Chair of the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds Kristian Vigenin. I hope this policy will continue in the future, he added. According to Kristian Vigenin, although Bulgaria is not in the Eurozone, we are pegged to the euro and whatever happens to the euro will directly affect us.

Chair of Economic Policy and Tourism Committee Peter Kanev raised topical issues for Bulgaria, such as the role of the European Minister of Finance. According to Peter Kanev, Europe is not in a good state, Brexit being one reason for that.

The representatives of the European Commission and the National Assembly discussed the timeframe and options for Bulgaria’s accession to ERM II. According to the representatives of the European Commission, there are still areas in which reforms should continue, such as education and the banking sector, and yet the Commission has more than once stated its support for Bulgaria becoming a member of the Eurozone.