Charles Enoch and Anna-Marie Gulde of IMF trace stunning history of Bulgaria which transitioned from hyperinflation to Euro in 3 decades:
On a warm June morning in Sofia in early 2025, the news spread quickly through the halls of the Bulgarian National Bank. The convergence report Bulgaria had requested from the European Commission and the European Central Bank in February was complete. It weighed Bulgaria’s economy and laws against the requirements for joining Europe’s single currency.
This was not the first such report, but so far Bulgaria had never shown full compliance with the accession requirements. This time, however, would be different. This time, Bulgarians believed, Brussels and Frankfurt would green-light their country’s membership in the euro area.
The Bulgarians had been working toward this moment for a long time. The country had joined the EU in 2007 and hoped to take a seat at the euro area table soon thereafter. It would take 18 years to achieve that objective: Bulgaria will become the 21st member of the euro area on January 1, 2026.
To understand this remarkable trajectory, we must go back to the 1990s.
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