Sat, Jul 04 2009

Bulgaria to adopt the euro in 2013-2014, UniCredit says

Mon, May 12 2008 18:22 CET byElena Koinova 224 Views

Bulgaria and Romania would likely join the euro zone in 2013-2014, the analytical unit of UniCredit Group said in its latest report titled The Euro goes Eastwards. It also warned that the main challenge to euro zone hopefuls was soaring inflation.

Once all aspirants from Central and Eastern Europe adopt the single European currency, the euro zone will expand by a third. Currently, the euro is in use by 320 million Europeans in 15 countries.

"The prospect for euro adoption is a main anchor for most of the countries from the 2004 and 2007 EU enlargement waves," Debora Revoltella, UniCredit Group chief economist for Central and Eastern Europe, said.

"A main challenge presently is the inflation criterion because of the price pressure observed in almost the entire CEE region," Revoltella added.

According to UniCredit Group, Slovakia stands 90 per cent chance to join the euro zone as of January 1 2009, as it got the greenlight for compliance with Maastricht criteria in the convergence reports from the European Central Bank and the European Commission.

Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, which are yet to set an official date for euro zone accession, are likely to adopt the euro in 2012-2013. For the three Baltic states, whose currencies are pegged to the euro, target euro zone accession in 2011-2012.

Write comment

Name: Comment:
Send your comment

More in this category

Cosmote Romania buys rival operator for 3G licence

Mobile operator Cosmote Romania agreed the acquisition of smaller local rival Zapp Mobile for 207 million euro on June 30, after months of negotiations.

Nabucco deal to be signed July 13

The intergovernmental agreement for the Nabucco natural gas pipeline will be signed in Ankara on July 13, it emerged on July 3.

Harnessing the wind

Bulgaria has low taxes, low labour costs and a lot of wind – a good combination for any company seeking to develop wind parks.

Creating a future in IT

On June 5 2009, US ambassador Nancy McEldowney launched the first US-Bulgarian partnership dedicated to Information Technology and Innovation.

In neutral gear

Bulgarian car parts manufacturers have been affected by the recession, but are optimistic about their future.

© 2000-2009, Sofia Echo Media Ltd.

Web Design by RIZN

The news and information content on this website is provided by our editorial team and is copyrighted. Any unauthorised reproduction or use of it is strictly forbidden. Reproduction of this website's content is permitted only with prior written permission from the Editor-in-Chief, should be propertly acredited and provide an active link back to our site. Comments posted by the website's visitors are independent of the editorial materials and do not represent the views of sofiaecho.com. Sofia Echo Media cannot be held responsible for the statements contained in visitor comments. The percentаge change in the shares' prices are based on the price of the last transaction of the current session compared to the price of the last transaction of the previous session. Bulgarian Stock Exchange data is not real-time, but updated every 15 minutes, and should not be used as a basis for decisions about buying or selling stock options.