An International Monetary Fund (IMF) expert mission headed by Jean-Francois Dauphin is on a visit to Bulgaria between November 30 and December 6, the Bulgarian Finance Ministry said in a press release on Wednesday.
During the opening meeting, Bulgarian caretaker Finance Minister Rositza Velkova presented to the IMF team a report on Bulgaria's state budget implementation for 2022. During the talks, Velkova explained the reasons behind the government's decision to table in Parliament a bill to extend the effect of the 2022 state budget, which was adopted on first reading.
Velkova briefed Dauphin and the experts on the progress of Bulgaria's technical preparations for joining the eurozone and confirmed the Bulgarian government's intention to adopt the euro at the beginning of 2024. Another subject of the discussion was the first payment under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, as well as the conditions to be met for the subsequent two payments.
During their visit to Bulgaria, the IMF experts will meet with representatives of Bulgarian state institutions and organizations to discuss the current macroeconomic developments and economic situation. The talks will also cover the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine, as well as appropriate fiscal and energy policies to preserve macroeconomic stability.