European Council publishes Eurogroup draft recommendation for Bulgaria to adopt the euro from 1 January 2026

The European Council published a readout of the euro area finance ministers’ discussions confirming agreement to recommend that Bulgaria join the euro area as its 21st member and adopt the euro from 1 January 2026. The ministers welcomed convergence reports from the European Commission and the European Central Bank and concurred that Bulgaria fulfils the criteria for introducing the euro. A draft recommendation to the Council was prepared in the Eurogroup to feed into the Economic and Financial Affairs Council discussions on 20 June 2025. The meeting also covered the International Monetary Fund’s euro area Article IV assessment, with a specific focus on financial sector issues as the IMF finalises its Financial Sector Assessment Program concluding statement, and included a check-in on medium-term budget plans and 2025 budgets, including the draft budget plans of Belgium and Austria. Ministers discussed mobilising resources for European security spending while maintaining clear budget rules and agreed to return at a future meeting to the euro area-wide budget stance ahead of 2026 budget preparations. On the digital euro, continued political backing was reaffirmed and efforts were set to intensify to resolve outstanding issues as the Polish presidency ends and the Danish presidency takes over, while a call for candidates for the next Eurogroup presidency was launched ahead of a decision at the 7 July Eurogroup meeting, with the current term ending on 12 July.