Currency Bulgaria says goodbye to the lev and hello to the euro
Bulgaria replaced the lev with the euro at the start of the new year. This makes the Balkan state the 21st country in which the common currency is the official means of payment.
01.01.2026, 00:41
SDA
The euro will help tourism and make it easier for Bulgarian manufacturers to trade with Europe and the rest of the world, as the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance and the National Bank of Bulgaria (NBB) had previously stated.
Many things will also become easier for tourists: currency exchange and additional fees will be eliminated, prices will be easier to compare and card payments will be less complicated. The fixed conversion rate is 1.95583 lev per euro - exactly the same rate at which the Deutschmark was once converted into the euro.
However, many people in Bulgaria doubt that the euro will benefit them. There is great concern that the currency changeover will cause prices to rise in the Balkan country, which is one of the poorest in the EU, and that the euro will turn out to be an "expensive euro". And quite a few fear that Bulgaria will have to give up some of its independence.
Head of state criticizes the course of the decision to introduce the euro
In his New Year's address, President Rumen Radev criticized the fact that there should have been a referendum on the introduction of the euro. "But those in power did not want to listen to the citizens," criticized Radev in his speech, which was broadcast on state television. A corresponding motion by Radew was rejected by the pro-Western parliamentary majority.
For its part, the European Central Bank (ECB) points out the many advantages of belonging to the eurozone. ECB President Christine Lagarde, as Europe's top currency guardian, promises the Bulgarians two things above all: Prosperity and security.
