Bulgaria could join waiting room to adopt the euro until the end of 2020, European Central Bank board member Fabio Panetta said in an interview for Le Monde.
The institution praises the efforts of Bulgaria and Croatia to switch to the common currency, Panetta added. He underlined that the two countries rely on tourism.
“Croatia and Bulgaria took bold measures to converge. If the process is completed successfully, they could join ERM-2 by the end of the year”, Panetta said.
The countries usually stay in the system for at least two years to prove their currencies’ stability. That is why the first available window for Croatia and Bulgaria to join the euro area would be 2023.