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Official Journal EN
of the European Union L series
2025/1407 14.7.2025
COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2025/1407
of 8 July 2025
on the adoption by Bulgaria of the euro on 1 January 2026
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 140(2) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
Having regard to the report from the European Commission(1),
Having regard to the report from the European Central Bank(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(3),
Having regard to the discussion in the European Council,
Having regard to the recommendation of the members of the Council representing Member States whose currency is the
euro(4),
Whereas:
(1) The third stage of economic and monetary union (‘EMU’) started on 1 January 1999. The Council, meeting in
Brussels on 3 May 1998 in the composition of Heads of State or Government, decided that Belgium, Germany,
Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland fulfilled the necessary
conditions for adopting the euro on 1 January 1999(5).
(2) By Decision 2000/427/EC(6), the Council decided that Greece fulfilled the necessary conditions for adopting the
euro on 1 January 2001. By Decision 2006/495/EC(7), the Council decided that Slovenia fulfilled the necessary
conditions for adopting the euro on 1 January 2007. By Decisions 2007/503/EC(8) and 2007/504/EC(9), the
Council decided that Cyprus and Malta fulfilled the necessary conditions for adopting the euro on 1 January 2008.
By Decision 2008/608/EC(10), the Council decided that Slovakia fulfilled the necessary conditions for adopting the
euro. By Decision 2010/416/EU(11), the Council decided that Estonia fulfilled the necessary conditions for adopting
(1) Report of 4 June 2025 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
(2) Report of 4 June 2025 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
(3) Opinion of 8 July 2025 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
(4) OJ C, C/2025/3950, 14.7.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/3950/oj.
(5) Council Decision 98/317/EC of 3 May 1998 in accordance with Article 109j(4) of the Treaty (OJ L 139, 11.5.1998, p. 30, ELI:
http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/1998/317(1)/oj).
(6) Council Decision 2000/427/EC of 19 June 2000 in accordance with Article 122(2) of the Treaty on the adoption by Greece of the
single currency on 1 January 2001 (OJ L 167, 7.7.2000, p. 19, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2000/427/oj).
(7) Council Decision 2006/495/EC of 11 July 2006 in accordance with Article 122(2) of the Treaty on the adoption by Slovenia of the
single currency on 1 January 2007 (OJ L 195, 15.7.2006, p. 25, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2006/495/oj).
(8) Council Decision 2007/503/EC of 10 July 2007 in accordance with Article 122(2) of the Treaty on the adoption by Cyprus of the
single currency on 1 January 2008 (OJ L 186, 18.7.2007, p. 29, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2007/503/oj).
(9) Council Decision 2007/504/EC of 10 July 2007 in accordance with Article 122(2) of the Treaty on the adoption by Malta of the
single currency on 1 January 2008 (OJ L 186, 18.7.2007, p. 32, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2007/504/oj).
(10) Council Decision 2008/608/EC of 8 July 2008 in accordance with Article 122(2) of the Treaty on the adoption by Slovakia of the
single currency on 1 January 2009 (OJ L 195, 24.7.2008, p. 24, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2008/608/oj).
(11) Council Decision 2010/416/EU of 13 July 2010 in accordance with Article 140(2) of the Treaty on the adoption by Estonia of the
euro on 1 January 2011 (OJ L 196, 28.7.2010, p. 24, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2010/416(1)/oj).
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the euro. By Decision 2013/387/EU(12), the Council decided that Latvia fulfilled the necessary conditions for
adopting the euro. By Decision 2014/509/EU(13), the Council decided that Lithuania fulfilled the necessary
conditions for adopting the euro. By Decision (EU) 2022/1211/(14), the Council decided that Croatia fulfilled the
necessary conditions for adopting the euro.
(3) In accordance with point 1 of Protocol No 16 on certain provisions relating to Denmark annexed to the Treaty
establishing the European Community and with the Decision taken by the Heads of State or Government in
Edinburgh in December 1992, Denmark has notified the Council that it will not participate in the third stage of
EMU. Denmark has not requested that the procedure referred to in Article 140(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of
the European Union (TFEU) be initiated.
(4) By virtue of Decision 98/317/EC, Sweden is a Member State with a derogation within the meaning of Article 139(1)
TFEU. In accordance with Article 4 of the 2003 Act of Accession, Czechia, Hungary and Poland are Member States
with a derogation within the meaning of Article 139(1) TFEU. In accordance with Article 5 of the 2005 Act of
Accession, Bulgaria and Romania are Member States with a derogation within the meaning of Article 139(1) TFEU.
(5) The European Central Bank (‘ECB’) was established on 1 July 1998. The European Monetary System has been
replaced by an exchange rate mechanism, the setting-up of which was agreed by the Resolution of the European
Council on the establishment of an exchange rate mechanism in the third stage of economic and monetary union of
16 June 1997(15). The procedures for an exchange rate mechanism in stage three of economic and monetary union
(ERM II) were laid down in the Agreement of 16 March 2006 between the ECB and the national central banks of the
Member States outside the euro area laying down the operating procedures for an exchange rate mechanism in stage
three of economic and monetary union(16).
(6) Article 140(2) TFEU lays down the procedures for abrogating the derogations of the Member States concerned. At
least once every two years, or at the request of a Member State with a derogation, the Commission and the ECB are
to report to the Council in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 140(1) TFEU.
(7) National legislation in the Member States, including the statutes of national central banks, is to be adapted as
necessary with a view to ensuring compatibility with Articles 130 and 131 TFEU and with the Statute of the
European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (‘Statute of the ESCB and of the ECB’). The
reports of the Commission and the ECB provide a detailed assessment of the compatibility of the legislation of
Bulgaria with Articles 130 and 131 TFEU and with the Statute of the ESCB and of the ECB.
(8) In accordance with Article 1 of Protocol No 13 on the convergence criteria annexed to the TFEU, the criterion on
price stability referred to in the first indent of Article 140(1) TFEU means that a Member State has a price
performance that is sustainable and an average rate of inflation, observed over a period of one year before the
examination, that does not exceed by more than one and a half percentage points that of, at most, the three
best-performing Member States in terms of price stability. For the purpose of the criterion on price stability,
inflation is measured by the harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICPs) defined in Regulation (EU) 2016/792 of
the European Parliament and of the Council(17). To assess the price stability criterion, a Member State’s inflation is
measured by the percentage change in the arithmetic average of 12 monthly indices, relative to the arithmetic
average of 12 monthly indices from the previous period. A reference value calculated as the simple arithmetic
average of the inflation rates of the three best-performing Member States in terms of price stability, plus 1,5
percentage points, was used in the reports of the Commission and the ECB. In the one-year period ending in April
2025, the inflation reference value was calculated to be 2,8 %, with Ireland, Finland and Italy as the three
best-performing Member States in terms of price stability, with inflation rates of 1,2 %, 1,3 %, and 1,4 %,
respectively.
(12) Council Decision 2013/387/EU of 9 July 2013 on the adoption by Latvia of the euro on 1 January 2014 (OJ L 195, 18.7.2013,
p. 24, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2013/387/oj).
(13) Council Decision 2014/509/EU of 23 July 2014 on the adoption by Lithuania of the euro on 1 January 2015 (OJ L 228, 31.7.2014,
p. 29, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2014/509/oj).
(14) Council Decision (EU) 2022/1211 of 12 July 2022 on the adoption by Croatia of the euro on 1 January 2023 (OJ L 187, 14.7.2022,
p. 31, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2022/1211/oj).
(15) OJ C 236, 2.8.1997, p. 5.
(16) OJ C 73, 25.3.2006, p. 21.
(17) Regulation (EU) 2016/792 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on harmonised indices of consumer
prices and the house price index, and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 (OJ L 135, 24.5.2016, p. 11, ELI: http://data.
europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/792/oj).
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(9) In accordance with Article 2 of Protocol No 13, the criterion on the government budgetary position referred to in
the second indent of Article 140(1) TFEU requires that, at the time of the examination, the Member State not be the
subject of a Council decision under Article 126(6) TFEU that an excessive deficit exists.
(10) In accordance with Article 3 of Protocol No 13, the criterion on participation in the exchange-rate mechanism of the
European Monetary System referred to in the third indent of Article 140(1) TFEU requires a Member State to have
respected the normal fluctuation margins provided for by the exchange rate mechanism (ERM) of the European
Monetary System, without severe tensions, for at least the last two years before the examination. In particular, the
Member State must not have devalued its currency’s bilateral central rate against the euro on its own initiative for the
same period. Since 1 January 1999, the ERM II provides the framework for assessing the fulfilment of the exchange
rate criterion. In assessing the fulfilment of this criterion in their reports, the Commission and the ECB have
examined the two-year period ending on 19 May 2025.
(11) In accordance with Article 4 of Protocol No 13, the criterion on the convergence of interest rates referred to in the
fourth indent of Article 140(1) TFEU means that, observed over a period of one year before the examination,
a Member State has had an average nominal long-term interest rate that does not exceed by more than two
percentage points that of, at most, the three best-performing Member States in terms of price stability. The criterion
used to assess the convergence of interest rates was comparable interest rates on ten-year benchmark government
bonds. To assess the fulfilment of the interest-rate criterion, a reference value calculated as the simple arithmetic
average of the nominal long-term interest rates of the three best-performing Member States in terms of price
stability, plus two percentage points, was considered in the reports of the Commission and the ECB. The reference
value is based on the long-term interest rates in Ireland (2,8 %), Finland (2,9 %) and Italy (3,7 %), and in the
12-month period ending in April 2025 it was 5,1 %.
(12) In accordance with Article 5 of Protocol No 13, the data used in assessing the fulfilment of the convergence criteria
was provided by the Commission. Budgetary data were provided by the Commission after reporting by the Member
States before 1 April 2025, in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2009(18).
(13) On the basis of reports presented by the Commission and the ECB on the progress made by Bulgaria in fulfilling its
obligations regarding the achievement of economic and monetary union, it is concluded that in Bulgaria, national
legislation, including the Statute of the national central bank, is compatible with Articles 130 and 131 TFEU and
with the Statute of the ESCB and of the ECB.
(14) On the basis of reports presented by the Commission and the ECB on the progress made by Bulgaria in fulfilling its
obligations regarding the achievement of economic and monetary union, it is concluded that, regarding the
fulfilment by Bulgaria of the convergence criteria mentioned in the four indents of Article 140(1) TFEU: the average
inflation rate in Bulgaria in the 12-month period ending in April 2025 stood at 2,7 %, which is below the reference
value, and a review of a broad range of indicators does not identify causes for concern regarding the sustainability of
price stability; Bulgaria is not the subject of a Council decision on the existence of an excessive deficit; Bulgaria has
been a member of ERM II since 10 July 2020 and during the two years preceding the assessment, the lev (BGN)
exchange rate has not been subject to severe tensions and Bulgaria has not devalued the BGN bilateral central rate
against the euro on its own initiative. Finally, in the 12-month period ending in April 2025, the long-term interest
rate in Bulgaria was, on average 3,9 %, which is well below the reference value.
(15) In the light of the assessment on legal compatibility and on the fulfilment of the convergence criteria as well as the
assessment of additional factors, Bulgaria fulfils the necessary conditions for the adoption of the euro,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Bulgaria fulfils the necessary conditions for the adoption of the euro. The derogation referred to in Article 5 of the 2005
Act of Accession is abrogated with effect from 1 January 2026.
(18) Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2009 of 25 May 2009 on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure
annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community (OJ L 145, 10.6.2009, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2009/
479/oj).
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Article 2
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 8 July 2025.
For the Council
The President
S. LOSE
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