Finance Minister: Economic impact of Bulgaria's delayed Eurozone, Schengen membership is 4-5% of GDP

In a interview for Nova TV, Minister of Finance and Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) Co-chair, Assen Vassilev, said that the overall economic impact of Bulgaria's delayed membership in the euro area and Schengen is between 4 and 5% of the country's GDP. Vassilev's interview comes after the Council of Ministers issued a draft decree, according to which Bulgaria should include in an official document January 1, 2025, as a target date for euro area membership.

The Finance Minister said that this act is necessary, because the caretaker cabinet had not asked for an emergency report, which would have allowed in June 2023 to have the decision on membership taken from January 1, 2024, and because the caretaker cabinet had drafted a budget with a budget deficit of 6.4%.

Vassilev said that January 1, 2025, is the date, which is discussed with the European Central Bank, the European Commission, and the Eurogroup. He stated that the losses for the economy are clear and range between BGN 500 million and one billion just from currency revaluation. The delayed eurozone membership is also associated with higher interest rates and less investment. For Schengen the losses are also significant, Vassilev said.