Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on April 26 he expects his country to join the Eurozone waiting room — the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM2) — within a year. 

Bulgaria, which joined the EU in 2007, had high hopes of making progress in further integration within the bloc during its EU Council presidency in the first half of this year. In January, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov announced Bulgaria would most likely apply to join ERM2 in the first half of 2018, though Sofia has had mixed messages from EU officials. 

“The first positive thing is that the credit rating of the state will go up, we will cut interest rates on loans, more investment will come, there will be more stability and security in the banking system as long as there is political stability,” commented Borissov, according to a statement on his Facebook page. “I am optimistic that within a year we will be able to congratulate ourselves on this matter.”

Borissov noted that Bulgaria’s foreign debt is one of the lowest in Europe and added that by the end of his mandate the country’s debt will drop to 20% of the GDP.

Also on April 26, the Borissov cabinet received assurance from European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis that within one month Bulgaria will take the first step towards entry to ERM2, receiving the so-called “road map”, according to nova.bg. 

Dombrovskis previously said in December that it would not be difficult for the country to enter the ERM2, as its currency, the lev, is already pegged to the euro.

However, in February, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said, quoted by Euractiv, that Bulgaria still has work to do to join the Schengen area and meet the criteria for becoming member of the Eurozone.