Bulgaria meets all requirements of the Maastricht treaty, except for acceptable inflation levels. These factors will enable Bulgaria's earlier accession to the Euro zone, Emerging Markets Daily News reports. Bulgaria's preparation for the acceptance of the euro as the national currency is going well. The country is equal to Poland and slightly ahead of Hungary on accession criteria, economy experts said.
Emerging Markets evaluations state that Bulgaria still has good chances for on-time EU accession in 2007. Soon after that the national economy will be ready to accept the euro. A good indication is the stable relationship between the lev and the euro now, Dnevnik newspaper reported. Predictions of a threat to the currency board during the after-elections political crisis have not proven valid. The budget is under control, despite the difficulties in forming a leading coalition and selecting a Cabinet. In addition, the national fiscal policies do not contradict EU requirements and Bulgaria's foreign debt is constantly decreasing. The single risk factor remains high inflation. Fast GDP growth rate, credit expansion and the inability to carry out monetary policies lead to price instability, experts conclude.