Minister of Finance: Information campaign on the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria to begin in March

This March, a large-scale information campaign regarding the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria will begin, Minister of Finance, Temenuzhka Petkova, said on March 7 during question time in Parlaiment. Petkova responded to a question from Nikolay Denkov, a Member of Parliament from We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria, regarding when the Ministry of Finance plans to resume its communication campaign about Bulgaria’s accession to the eurozone and what it will entail.

"Much of the delay in the preparation and awarding of public tenders for communication activities (related to the adoption of the euro in our country) has already been overcome, so a large-scale information campaign in the media regarding the introduction of the euro in the Republic of Bulgaria will start this month," said Temenuzhka Petkova to the Members of Parliament.

Petkova pointed out that one of the government's top priorities is Bulgaria's membership in the eurozone and the government is willing to do everything necessary to see this process through, including through the implementation of a comprehensive information campaign that will explain the advantages and benefits of adopting the euro for both the people and businesses.

The Minister of Finance provided a retrospective on the activities related to the communication campaign so far and the challenges that have arisen in recent years.

According to her, the information campaign for the euro was outlined in detail at the beginning of 2021, when Kiril Ananiev was Minister of Finance. During his tenure, the working version of the communication strategy for informing the public and raising awareness about Bulgaria’s accession to the eurozone was developed, as well as the draft national plan for the introduction of the euro in the Republic of Bulgaria.

"The facts show that the preparation began on time, but the two subsequent caretaker governments, as well as the regular government later, did not work at the pace necessary to prepare and launch the information campaign," said Petkova.

According to the Finance Minister, the first information strategy was adopted in November 2022 with a decision of the Coordination Council for the preparation of the Republic of Bulgaria for eurozone membership, but without funds earmarked for its implementation.

"It turns out that there were no allocated resources in the Ministry of Finance’s budget for the implementation of the campaign, unlike the planned procedure for the period 2021-2024, when the then leadership of the Ministry of Finance had planned financial resources with a three-year horizon. Unfortunately, these funds were removed from the budget plan," Petkova stated.

She added that, as a result, the financial provision for the communication activities was secured by a decision of the caretaker government for an additional expenditure of BGN 10 million in the budget of the Ministry of Finance.

Petkova noted that at the end of 2022, a contract was awarded, and in March 2023, work began on the development and launch of a website for the introduction of the euro in the Republic of Bulgaria. In March 2023, a contract was signed for the production and delivery of six informational videos – 30-second and 15-second versions – to explain the introduction of the euro and the benefits of Bulgaria’s membership in the eurozone.

According to her, at the end of March 2024, the official website related to the introduction of the euro in the Republic of Bulgaria, which was prepared by the Ministry of Finance team in the caretaker government, was launched.