|Full text of the analysis| At the beginning of October, it was three years since Bulgaria joined the Banking Union. The event was once advertised with great official enthusiasm. It was even explained that this marks the practical beginning of the country's membership in the eurozone. The argument – the Banking Union is a mechanism created in and …
More »Andrey Gyurov questions the political independence of the BNB
The case of the leaked video recording, which shows how the deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, who heads the “Issue” department, plays a leading role in opening the election campaign of a mayoral candidate nominated by “Continuing Change”, is not just another gaffe in our public space. Even secondary questions are questions such as – did he travel in a company car …
More »BNB experts warn of the same risks from the euro as the EKIP
Last week, the economic experts of the Bulgarian National Bank surprisingly joined the Eurosceptic authors of this site. Judging by the working version of the BNB's part of the "Analysis of the Effects of the Introduction of the Single European Currency in the Republic of Bulgaria", the central bank agrees that the adoption of the euro would expose ...
More »Who is afraid of an expert debate about the euro?
At a parliamentary hearing last week, we witnessed yet another shameful circus regarding the issue of the future of Bulgaria’s currency regime. The Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, Dimitar Radev, attempted to evade responsibility for providing an analysis of the consequences of Bulgaria’s potential accession to the eurozone. In …
More »With the plan to adopt the euro, the government is putting the cart before the horse
In the context of the already numerous internal conflicts in the ruling coalition, which have been going on for months, another one has been brewing in recent weeks, this time regarding the possible introduction of the euro in Bulgaria from January 2024. At the beginning of the month, Finance Minister Assen Vassilev (from "We Continue the Change") tried to push for the introduction of ...
More »The Banking Union – not salvation, but a trap for Bulgarian taxpayers
October 1 marked exactly one year since Bulgaria officially joined the EU Banking Union. The accession was accompanied by great fanfare from public experts, politicians, and of course the government of Boyko Borissov himself, who in April 2020 announced Bulgaria’s accession to the ERM-II exchange rate mechanism and the Banking Union …
More »One year of Bulgaria in the Banking Union - risks and opportunities
The Banking Union creates incentives for decapitalization and destabilization of our banking system. The Banking Union would most likely not help restructure local banks. Bulgaria no longer has its own bank resolution fund. In such a situation, the cost of bank bankruptcies falls through the budget onto Bulgarian taxpayers. On October 1, 2020…
More »The issue of the national currency cannot be resolved behind closed doors
Stoyan Panchev's interview with Trud newspaper: The early parliamentary elections were marked by low interest and minimal surprises in the results. No party won outright. No potential coalition was given enough room for action. Slavi Trifonov's party presented a draft cabinet, thus leaving potential partners …
More »In love with the leva
Author: Steve Hanke Earlier this year, we witnessed a dramatic slowdown in Bulgaria’s headlong rush to abandon the leva and adopt the euro. Prime Minister Boyko Borisov sensed that Bulgarian society was not in favor of being included in the European Monetary Mechanism ERM-II. The year 1997 was both the worst and the best …
More »The "unrecognized" risk for banks from joining ERM-II
Last week, we thoroughly refuted Prime Minister Borisov's claims about the alleged "benefits" of joining the ERM-II currency mechanism in the current crisis. Now we turn our attention to the other side of the coin - the potential risk that we would take if we joined the currency mechanism. The biggest risk is related to the banking system and is ...
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EKIP– Expert Club for Economics and Politics A Different Opinion