Lev goes down in history on February 1st

Detail from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, Photo: Reuters

Bulgaria has today become the 21st member of the eurozone, which includes European Union (EU) countries that utilize the euro as their currency and which had to meet strict conditions set by the European Central Bank.

The Bulgarian national currency, the lev, has been pegged to the euro for years, and previously, in the 1990s, its exmodify rate was repaired one to one to the former German mark. As such, it is believed that Bulgaria is well prepared for the transition to the euro.

The repaired exmodify rate for years has been 1,9558 leva for one euro.

Bulgarian citizens have had some problems with purchasing initial packs of euro coins, due to the way commercial banks were selling them, and this was pointed out by the Bulgarian Ombudsman in early December. One such set of 42 euro coins costs 20 leva.

After the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria, the lev will also be in circulation as a means of payment until February 1st, after which it will become history.

National euro coins will have one side the same as all EU coins, with a value indication, while the reverse of Bulgarian euro cents will feature the Hungarian Horseman, the one-euro coin John of Rila, who is considered the patron saint of Bulgarians, and the two-euro coin the monk and historian Paisius of Chilandar.

Some ATMs in Sofia have already started dispensing euro banknotes and coins since midnight.

The introduction of the European currency has deeply divided the Bulgarian population and sparked fierce protests, mainly from supporters of nationalist, Eurosceptic, and pro-Russian parties.

Bulgaria is ranked by Transparency International as the second most corrupt countest in the EU. Amid protests over corruption and those against the introduction of the euro, the government of acting Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazhkov resigned in mid-December.

The countest is facing new parliamentary elections, most likely in March, and it will be the eighth election in the past five years.

In the European Union, only Sweden, Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania now utilize their national currencies. The last EU member state to introduce the euro was Croatia on January 1, 2023.

There are also several countries that are not in the EU or the eurozone but utilize the euro as a means of payment with tacit permission, namely Montenegro and Kosovo, as well as the tiny European states of San Marino, Andorra, Monaco, and the Vatican.