A commission report concluded that after reducing inflation Bulgaria fulfils all requirements for becoming the 21st European Union country to use the common currency.

“The euro is a tangible symbol of European strength and unity,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“Thanks to the euro, Bulgaria’s economy will become stronger, with more trade with euro area partners, foreign direct investment, access to finance, quality jobs and real incomes,” she said.

Bulgaria has been a member of the EU since 2007 and had previously planned to replace its national currency, the lev, with the euro in 2024, but the adoption was postponed due to a comparatively high inflation rate of 9.5% at the time.

The commission recently said it expects an inflation rate of 3.6% for Bulgaria in the current year and 1.8% in 2026.

Fellow EU countries – including those not using the euro – and the European Parliament still have to give their consent to Bulgaria, which is seen as highly likely.

According to the EU treaties, all EU member states with the exception of Denmark are obliged to join the eurozone as soon as they fulfil the requirements.

Apart from Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Hungary have yet to introduce the single currency.

Croatia was the last country to join the euro, in January 2023.

The criteria for joining include price stability, sound public finances and stable exchange rates.

The European Central Bank (ECB) and the commission regularly review the progress made by the euro candidate countries.

Protests in Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, the possible introduction of the euro has been accompanied by fierce protests.

On Saturday supporters of pro-Russian and nationalist parties demonstrated against adoption of the euro in Sofia and in other cities.

In February nationalists set fire to the entrance of the EU representation in the capital and poured red paint on the glass façade of the building and threw Molotov cocktails and eggs. Six people were arrested.

The pro-Russian nationalist opposition party Vazrazhdane (Bulgarian for “revival”) had previously participated in a protest rally in front of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB).

Vazrazhdane accuses the national bank of falsifying data in order to enable the introduction of the euro. The party fears Bulgaria would lose its national sovereignty when it drops the lev.

Euro opponents call for referendum

Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov called for a referendum on keeping the lev.

Activists collected 604,000 signatures in favour of a referendum. However, the Bulgarian parliament has twice rejected a referendum on the currency issue – in 2023 and recently in May 2025.

According to an opinion poll conducted by the Bulgarian Mjara institute in May, more than half of adults (54.9%) are against the introduction of the euro in 2026, while 34.4% are in favour of joining.

According to a survey conducted by the Gallup International Balkan Institute in the second half of May, 33.4% see “benefits” in the introduction of the euro. However 32.9% fear “rather disadvantages.” 22.6% expect neither benefits nor disadvantages.

Despite delivering consistent performances for Ludogorets in Bulgaria’s top league over the past four seasons, the 26-year-old has only earned two caps for the Ghanaian national team, the Black Stars.

Both appearances came during the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, where he made a substitute appearance and started in the third-place playoff match.

Among the players named in Otto Addo’s 26-man squad for the June World Cup qualifiers, only Mohammed Kudus has scored more goals (18) across all competitions this season than Tekpetey, who has netted 15.

“I think it might happen because I have a Bulgarian passport, which allows me to switch and play,” Tekpetey told Joy FM.

“They contacted me, but I told them I need to discuss this with my family first. I come from Ghana, and I can’t make such a decision without considering my mom’s feelings. She would be unhappy. I need to talk to her first.

“My mom loves and wants to see me play for the national team. She was very happy when my name was included in the AFCON provisional squad.

“I just didn’t want to bring it up with her yet. I want to stay calm, focus on my game, and see what happens next.”

However, according to FIFA rules, Tekpetey’s two appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations prevent him from switching nationalities.

Earlier, both Polish and Bulgarian energy providers said they had received official notices from the Russian gas supplier that deliveries were due to be cut.

Gazprom’s announcement comes after some confusion earlier this morning, when data showed gas supplies into Poland through Belarus temporarily reduced to zero before resuming.

Bulgaria’s gas network had also said the country was still receiving Russian gas as of this morning.

We are yet to see any data of gas volumes into Poland or Bulgaria since Gazprom’s announcement just now.

Both countries have refused to pay in roubles – the Russian currency – as demanded by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

PGNiG bought 53% of its gas imports from Gazprom in the first quarter of this year, but Warsaw says it can get gas from other sources.

It described the suspension as a breach of contract, adding that the company would take steps to reinstate the gas supply.

Bulgaria, which relies on Gazprom for more than 90% of its gas supply, also said it had taken steps to find alternative sources but no restrictions on gas consumption were currently required.

The country’s energy ministry said Bulgaria had fulfilled its obligations under the current contract with Gazprom and made all required payments.

It added that the new payment system proposed by Russia was in breach of the existing contract.

Senior officials from Bulgaria’s interior ministry have confirmed that tragically several children were among those killed.

Nikolai Nikolov, the head of the fire safety department at the interior ministry, also confirmed that seven living victims with serious burns were rushed to a hospital in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital.

The seven reportedly jumped from the bus.

He told BTV television: “At least 45 people were killed after a bus caught fire and crashed, or crashed and then caught fire.”

It has been reported that at least 12 of the victims were children.

The accident occurred at around 2:00 am today (November 23) local time, close to the city of Pernik in the west of the country, after the bus collided with a roadside barrier.

The bus itself had number plates from neighbouring North Macedonia and an official from the North Macedonian embassy in Sofia confirmed that most of the victims were from the country.

Bulgarian investigative service chief Borislav Sarafov explained that the cause of the crash hasn’t been confirmed.

He said: “Human mistake by the driver or a technical malfunction are the two initial versions for the accident.”

Of the seven who survived, six were adults and one was a 17-year-old girl. Six are being treated for burns and one for a leg injury.

The hospital has confirmed that they are not in life-threatening conditions.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Stefan Yanev has been in dialogue with Zoran Zaev, his North Macedonian counterpart.

Zaev also confirmed that children were among the victims. The driver of the bus has been confirmed to be among the deceased too.

He added: “The causes of the incident are being investigated. We do not know if all the passengers are our citizens, but we suspect so, as the bus has a Macedonian registration.

“I thank the Bulgarian authorities, who are doing everything to protect the lives of the survivors.

“We will be very grateful for the investigation of this tragedy.”

He also expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims.

Interior Minister Boyko Rashkov said: “People are clustered inside and are burnt to ash.

“The picture is terrifying, terrifying. I have never seen anything like that before.”

It is thought that the bus had departed from Istanbul, Turkey, and entered Bulgaria at 9 pm yesterday.

North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said the people onboard were returning home after a weekend holiday trip to Turkey.

The site of the crash has been sealed off and traffic is being diverted.