Bulgaria Adopts Euro Amid Political Instability

Bulgaria became the twenty-first member of the Eurozone on January 1 following the resignation of Rossen Jeliazkov and widespread public skepticism. While European leaders like Christine Lagarde and Ursula von der Leyen hailed the milestone, surveys showed that over half of Bulgarians oppose the transition due to inflation fears. The national lev will be replaced at a fixed rate of 1.95583 per euro, a move estimated to save companies approximately 1 billion levs annually in currency exchange costs.Bulgaria officially joined the Eurozone on January 1, 2026, becoming the twenty-first member of the currency bloc nearly two decades after joining the EU.The national currency, the lev, was replaced at a fixed rate of 1.95583 levs per euro, a peg that has been effectively maintained since 1997.