Bulgaria to adopt the euro as ECB and European Commission give green light
Bulgaria will join the eurozone at the start of next year after clearing a series of economic hurdles, securing approval from the European Central Bank and the European Commission on Wednesday.
"Today's report is a historic moment for Bulgaria, the euro area and the European Union," said EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis.
ECB Executive Board Member Philip Lane noted: "I wish to congratulate Bulgaria on its tremendous dedication to making the adjustments needed."
Since it joined the EU in 2007, Bulgaria has been seeking to switch its current currency, the lev, to the euro — although persistent inflation and political unrest have stalled progress.
Last year, Bulgaria's accession to the eurozone was pushed back as the country failed to contain price pressures. These shot up during Europe's energy crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, although annual CPI cooled to 3.5% in April, close to the EU's 3% target.
The ECB and the Commission are now satisfied that economic criteria are fulfilled, notably relating to the public debt and deficit, inflation, interest rates and the exchange rate.
Bulgaria's accession must now be approved by euro area finance ministers, with the final go-ahead expected on 8 July.
Wednesday's breakthrough came after a wave of protests in Bulgaria against the adoption of the euro.
Disinformation campaigns from home and abroad have made certain groups fearful of the change, notably pushing narratives that the euro will worsen poverty and stoke inflation.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev encouraged the anti-euro voices by proposing earlier this month a referendum on the currency. The proposal was rejected by the pro-European majority in parliament, which accused Radev of acting in favour of Moscow with his last-minute attempt to sabotage the euro adoption.
Countries that have previously joined the eurozone have seen modest inflationary spikes.
Even so, eurozone membership also offers a series of benefits as it can reduce borrowing costs, attract foreign investment, and facilitate cross-border trade. A position in the eurozone would also allow Bulgaria to have a greater say over the ECB's monetary policy trajectory.
Croatia was the last country to join the eurozone in 2023.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
22 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
ECB's Schnabel Says Now Is Right Time to Boost Role of Euro
European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel sees a favorable moment now to strengthen euro's global role as investors turn to Europe. There's a 'window of opportunity' to increase the international role of the euro, she said in a question to a panel at the 31st Dubrovnik Economic Conference on Saturday.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'Makes no sense': Carville scolds Jewish donors for abandoning party, defends Dem record on Israel
EXCLUSIVE: Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville responds to Jewish donors who no longer support the Democratic Party due to the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. "I've never seen a Democrat have dinner with Kanye West and Nick Fuentes," Carville told Fox News Digital. "I've never seen a Democrat that endorsed the Alternative für Deutschland Party in Germany. I can point to plenty of Republicans who have." Carville is pouring cold water on Democratic donors' excuse that the rise of antisemitism on college campuses, particularly at Columbia University, means they can no longer support the Democratic Party. "In my view, that makes no sense. You can't be for a Democrat because they're protesting against Biden? It's nonsense," Carville said. Carville Accuses Jewish Donors Of Abandoning Democrats For Gop Because They Just Want Their 'F-----g Tax Cut' College campuses became the epicenter of resistance to the war in Gaza as students across the country, a typically Democratic voting bloc, began protesting President Joe Biden during his re-election campaign last year. Read On The Fox News App Columbia's Anti-israel Protesters Say Trump Pulling $400M In Grants From University Is A 'Scare Tactic' Before Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, students chanted, "Genocide Joe has got to go!" outside his campaign rallies in critical swing states and organized protest votes to express their disapproval of the United States' support for Israel in the war against Hamas. Last month, President Donald Trump's administration accused Columbia University of violating federal law through its "deliberate indifference" toward anti-Israel protests that have persisted on campus since Oct. 7, 2023. But Carville, speaking to Fox News Digital about recent comments on his podcast, said it makes no sense for Jewish donors to turn away from the Democratic Party because of protesters at Columbia. Carville said it is the Democratic Party – not the Republican Party – that has historically supported Israel. "I would tell my Republican friends, which president was instrumental in the founding of the state of Israel? I happen to know Harry Truman. I happen to know he's a Democrat," Carville said. "Which president came closest to achieving Middle East peace and security for the state of Israel? I happen to know his name was Bill Clinton," he added. "Which president installed the Iron Dome, which saved, I don't know, how many thousands of Israeli lives? I happen to know Barack Obama. So, when you're looking at who is more supportive of the state of Israel, it's not even close," Carville told Fox News Digital. Carville drew a stark contrast with the Republican Party as he criticized Trump for dining with Kanye West, who is infamous for making antisemitic comments, and Nicholas Fuentes, considered a "white supremacist, Holocaust denier who hates Jews" by the American Jewish Committee. The longtime Democratic strategist also criticized Elon Musk, who until this week was a loyal Trump confidant and a "special government employee," for endorsing the Alternative for Germany party, considered a "confirmed extremist" group by Germany's domestic intelligence agency. Carville said on his podcast, "Politics War Room," this week that those Jewish donors are most likely embracing the Republican Party because they want their "f---ing tax cut." Speaking with Fox News Digital, Carville reiterated that Columbia University protests weren't a very good excuse for abandoning the Democratic Party. But the White House rejected Carville's perception of the Republican Party. "President Trump received unprecedented support from the Jewish community in his historic re-election, and this support continues to grow as he combats the left's rampant anti-Semitism that is exposed daily. The Trump administration is the most pro-Israel and pro-Jewish in our nation's history, and the President's record stands as a testament to this commitment," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital. Trump signed executive orders during his first administration, and again last month, aimed at combating antisemitism in the United States. Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Pritchett and Breanne Deppisch contributed to this article source: 'Makes no sense': Carville scolds Jewish donors for abandoning party, defends Dem record on Israel
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
What Elon Musk's feud with Trump means for Tesla shareholders
For Tesla investors, Elon Musk's involvement with Donald Trump has been a car wreck that's unfolded in two chapters, one in slow motion, the next on dizzying fast-forward. During Musk's 130 days running DOGE, a crusade whose dogged aggression virtually defined the administration's mindset in the early months, the EV chief infuriated European customers by backing far-right politicians, and as sales dropped in the likes of Germany and France, and severe competition shrank its market share in China, neglected tackling Tesla's mounting problems by doubling down by famously battling to slash departments and headcount from the White House. In his absence, Tesla's stock and earnings tanked. Bad as that episode proved for Tesla, it at least provided a potential upside. 'Even before DOGE, Musk clearly had too many spoons in too many pots through SpaceX, Neuralink, X and his other ventures, then he got even more preoccupied by putting another spoon in another pot,' says Eric Talley, a professor of law and business at Columbia University. 'But being in the White House also included a bit of an insurance policy for Tesla….sitting close to the seat of decision making was a big potential advantage.' Now, says Talley, Musk has singlehandedly turned that 'insurance policy' into a liability—the threat that the administration will penalize the EV-maker, or at best do nothing to protect it. When Musk departed DOGE on May 30 amid the fanfare of Trump's Oval Office sendoff, Tesla shareholders still had little to toast, since the CEO wasn't offloading his empire's myriad duties to refocus on the troubled manufacturer. Then, the Musk-Trump feud that exploded on June 5th, triggered by the former's lacerating takedown of the President's signature budget bill, put Tesla overnight into a spot where it's threatened not only by poor finances but the insults unleashed at his former sponsor that both invite retaliation by Trump and endanger Musk's survival as the enterprise's leader that's so critical to its gigantic valuation. 'The thing that's different in the last 24 hours,' says Talley, 'is that Musk not only walked away from an insurance policy of having a CEO situated high in government. He took out an anti-insurance policy. Any moment could erupt in a flameout from either side over social media that puts a target on Tesla's back.' He notes that Tesla's rivals are confronting the same headwinds from the wind-down in EV subsidies to purchasers subsidies proposed the so-called 'Great Big Beautiful Bill,' but the the overhang from antagonizing the president 'is a target its competitors don't have.' Indeed, the day it detonated, the blowup sent Tesla shares reeling 14.3% in a freefall that erased $153 billion in market cap, the biggest one-day drop in the company's history. Though it clawed back around a third of those losses the following day, the stock's still sitting 40% below its recent summit in mid-December. Charles Elson, founding director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, and one of the leading experts on the rules and ethics governing boards, told Fortune that in any other major public company but Tesla, Musk would be gone—and the dumping would have happened well before the new hurricane. 'If his name had been Joe Dokes, he'd be gone in a nano-second,' says Elson, 'given the reputational damage he did alienating a good number of customers by going into politics at DOGE. It's a mess. No other board would have let a CEO get involved in that way. You don't have time to be a CEO!' What keeps Musk in the job is his iron grip on the board, says Elson. He notes that Musk controls 30% of the shares, and that his influence extends beyond the power of that stake due to the loyalty built, in part, by awarding directors large options grants that made many of them extremely rich. Elson reckons that it would be extremely difficult for disgruntled shareholders to prevail in lawsuits versus board members that might work toward forcing out Musk. 'The road to winning liability cases against directors is a twisting, bumpy one,' he avows. 'That Tesla re-incorporated from Delaware to Texas makes it much tougher. That's why Tesla moved to Texas. It was a race to the bottom and they ran all the way to the bottom of the barrel.' For Elson, Musk can't be forced to leave, and won't go unless he wants to, 'and there's nothing anybody can do about it.' Nevertheless, the size of Musk's ownership stake that's the source of his control, and his attachment to Tesla going forward that's attached to that position, are being tested by a landmark decisions in the Delaware courts. The rulings, handed down last year, negated the $56 billion stock package awarded by the board in 2018 that accounts for two-thirds of Musk's holdings. Tesla's now appealing to get that comp restored. If the Delaware Supreme Court upholds the decision, Tesla's certain to attempt getting that compensation reinstated. But that route courts much higher risks now. According to Talley, the board under Texas law could either attempt to restore the package unilaterally, or put the issue to a shareholder vote. He reckons that the former, more direct approach is now looking a lot less attractive to the directors than a few days ago. 'The board may prefer now to go with a shareholder vote,' he says, given the potential backlash from rewarding Musk so royally when Tesla's struggling, mainly because of his own actions. 'It might appeal to the board to go that way and count on a rejection,' he adds. A turn down raises another potentially ghoulish outcome. 'If they have a shareholder vote, and it goes negative, then you have a succession problem. You don't want a CEO to take vengeance on the company,' a path the mercurial legend could take. It's also unclear how Musk will react if the Delaware Supreme Court rules against him—same upshot, he owns far less of Tesla, and his incentive to rebuild his the greatest source of his wealth would be greatly diminished. Tesla enjoys a gigantic premium courtesy of Musk's iconic status and the serial promises of delivering self-driving technology that will transform Tesla from a metal-bender into a fabulously lucrative tech player. As I detailed after Tesla reported Q1 results, it actually lost money selling cars and batteries and only managed a tiny profit through the sales of regulatory credits. Its 'hardcore,' repeatable earnings from the auto and battery franchises over the previous four quarters totaled just $3.5 billion, down from $12 billion in 2022. At a PE of 30 that's three times the auto industry average, Tesla—based on bedrock fundamentals—might be worth $100 billion. But even after the recent selloff, its valuation stands at $960 billion. Hence, the difference of well over $800 billion arises from what I'll call the 'Musk magic premium,' created by his promises of epic innovations to come. If Musk were to depart, a big part of that magic premium exits with him. It may be fading already. So for Tesla shareholders, it's bad either way. Musk leaves and a hands-on leader arrives, but the genius' halo no longer shields the stock, or he stays and keeps starting fights that undermine the brand and spreads his time among half a dozen pioneering ventures that he may find more riveting. As Elson puts it, 'Anyone else would be fired after this but he feels he can't be. He has this aura that makes him feel untouchable. He's got a cult status that seems to follow him and make folks think it's okay that he doesn't operate in a normal way.' But, Elson cautions, as Musk's behavior gets more and more outrageous, the burden he's heaping on Tesla, now and what investors increasing perceive is looming, is catching up with him. We've just seen a shocking example of how fast that can happen, and how rapidly the myth can dissolve. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
