Its general manager International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva, speaking to the media in Sofia today, said that the exact date of Bulgaria’s accession to the Eurozone is not as important as the accession itself, which could realistically take place in 2025.
“We know that for Bulgaria its accession to the Eurozone is a priority, and rightly so, because this is a way in which we can improve the competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy, reduce transaction costs in trade and the financial sector, for certain sectors of the economy to increase the attractiveness of Bulgaria and make domestic investments more attractive,” said Georgieva.
As he pointed out, everything is being done to enable Bulgaria to meet all the indicators for its accession to the Eurozone until the end of this year. “In my opinion, there are good conditions for the country to fulfill them by the end of the year, which will mean that next year at some point it could be in the Eurozone,” he added. Referring to people’s fears about the transition to the euro, Georgieva pointed out that while there will be a nostalgic side to the country leaving the lev in history, Bulgaria needs the competitiveness that the euro will bring.
He noted that Bulgaria is currently in a unique position, as due to the currency board, Bulgarian monetary policy is determined by the European Central Bank without the country’s government being able to influence it, as is the case with other eurozone members.
The head of the IMF believes that entering the euro zone is a responsible decision for Bulgaria.
Georgieva emphasized that Bulgaria’s economy looks good compared to the global situation. The country managed to maintain growth at positive levels both last year and this year.
For this year the forecasts are around 2.7%, he pointed out, adding that more details on the matter will be available on March 19 with the completion of the IMF expert mission visiting Bulgaria.
Meanwhile, inflation has also eased, and is expected to fall below 4% by the end of the year, Georgieva stressed.
According to the IMF director general, Bulgaria is among the IMF member states that are a source of good lessons – sometimes painful, but still good. Answering a question from BTA during the press briefing, Georgieva characterized the IMF’s relations with Bulgaria as very good.
The first part of the history of this relationship was not easy, it was the time when Bulgaria did not have a sound macroeconomic policy and needed not only the advice and assessment of the Fund, but also the financing of the Fund, said Georgieva. He added that it is not easy for a country to face these deep problems that the Bulgarian economy had, but the country fought them and is now able to not need financing from the Fund.
“You don’t need money from the Fund, if you don’t need our financing, that’s a testimony that the country is fine,” said the IMF managing director.
Source: RES-MPE
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