The second series of notes (beginning with the €5 note issued from 2013) includes the term "ЕВРО" and the abbreviation "ЕЦБ" (short for Европейска централна банка, the Bulgarian name of the European Central Bank). Its capital is Vilnius and the official language is Lithuanian. Borissov stated that he intended to apply to join ERM II[26] but Goranov elaborated that the government would only seek to join once the eurozone states were ready to approve the application, and that he expected to have clarity of this by the end of 2017. Finland holds 13 seats in the European Parliament and held the revolving presidency of the Council of the EU twice, in 1999 and 2006. Its capital is Bucharest and the official language is Romanian. Denmark holds 13 seats in the European Parliament and held the revolving presidency of the Council of the EU 7 times between 1973 and 2012. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is €409,407 billion, as per 2015.

The Council of the EU doesn't have a permanent, single-person president (like e.g. The political system is a Federal Parliamentary Republic and its currency is the Euro (€), since Austria became a member of the Eurozone on January 1, 1999. Belgium is also a member state of the Schengen Area since March 26, 1995. This presidential election prompted Borissov to resign (as he had promised in the event of a GERB loss), leading to snap parliamentary elections. Protests that began on July 9, were sparked by a raid of the Prosecutor-General’s Office on the headquarters of President Rumen Radev. Its capital is Stockholm and the official language is Swedish. Its capital is Helsinki and the official languages in Finland are Finnish and Swedish. Slovenia, Spain and Bulgaria were the reference states. Poland holds 51 seats in the European Parliament and held the revolving presidency of the Council of the EU once in 2011. Bulgarian euro coins have not yet been designed, but their motif has been chosen to be the Madara Rider.

"[42], On 30 April 2020, Bulgaria officially submitted documents to the European Central Bank to apply to join ERM II, the first step to introduce the euro. These countries operate as a single state with no border controls required when traveling within the countries, but have the same international border control rules. Daniel Matthews-Ferrero is a Marie Curie PhD researcher in the POLITICO programme at the University of Aberdeen, focusing on contemporary Western European populism. Bulgaria met 2 out of the 5 criteria in the last convergence report published by the European Central Bank in June 2020. Bulgarian case: Russian intelligence is increasingly making use of trade mission cover to handle operations, Pillars of Russia’s Disinformation and Propaganda Ecosystem, Lebanon – hostage to a corrupt politics and to a pro-Iranian armed movement, Violation of arms control treaties by Russia throws into question whether they need to be extended, The Western Togoland Secessionism as a Part of National Elections Campaign, The defeat of new Gambian Constitution is the blow to democracy and anti-corruption efforts. On the other hand, the biggest protests in Bulgaria since 2013 may cause a serious threat to the European Union. However, Bulgaria fulfilled the state budget criterion of only having a deficit at maximum 3% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). A majority (55%) of Bulgarians consider the EU as a good thing whereas 10% consider it a bad thing, just below the EU average (62/11). However, things didn't go as smoothly as hoped and the progress of reforms was additionally hindered by the economic crisis in 2009 - 2010. Latvia, Portugal and Ireland were the reference states, with Greece, Bulgaria and Cyprus excluded as outliers. Overview of the EU countries. Slovenia is a member country of the EU since May 1, 2004 with its geographic size of 20,273 km², and population number 2,062,874, as per 2015.

04Finally, in the late 1980's democratic change commenced in Bulgaria. Bulgaria's adaptation to the new role of the EU member turned out to be a very slow and painful process. Intra-EU trade accounts for 69% of Bulgaria’s exports (Germany 15%, Italy 9% and Romania 9%), while outside the EU 8% go to Turkey and 3% to China. Reform of the electoral system is a recurrent theme in Bulgarian politics. Its free trade agreements foresee the elimination of import duties on industrial goods and fish. This, in part, is also why the IMF remarked that ‘‘Persistent net emigration and population ageing continue to reduce the labour force, aggravating already-pressing labour shortages and skill mismatches.’’. The Constitution was adopted in 1991 and established a parliamentarian unicameral system.

Since joining the EU, Bulgaria has been actively involved in the processes of EU policy making. Its capital is Warsaw and the official language is Polish. Some critics also add that Bulgaria joined the EU prematurely, without sufficient preparedness, compared to other members.

The pandemic situation is a catalyst for the protests and demonstrations in one hand while in the other hand, is used by the government to crack down on the protesters. [24] The former deputy governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, Emil Harsev, agreed with Paramov, stating that it was possible to adopt the euro already in 2018, and "Bulgaria's membership in the eurozone will bring only positive effect on the economy" because "since establishing the currency board in 1997, we have been accepting all the negative effects of accession into the eurozone without getting the positive ones (access to the European financial market)". Greek coins include the alternative Greek spelling on the national (obverse) side.

Belgium holds 21 seats in the European Parliament and held the revolving presidency of the Council of the EU 12 times between 1958 and 2010. Bulgarians comprise 1.4% of the total EU population. The political system is a parliamentary republic. Its capital is Budapest and the official language is Hungarian.

Being in Europe doesn't…, Bulgaria destinations Bulgaria destinations is a hidden gem in the middle of the Balkan peninsula. As Bulgaria's "embassy to the EU", its main task is to ensure that the country's interests and policies are pursued as effectively as possible in the EU. Bulgaria has 12 representatives on the European Committee of the Regions, the EU's assembly of regional and local representatives.

Bulgaria in the EU - positive aspects Bulgarians hold 10 votes in the EU Council (the same number as Austria and Sweden) and has 17 members in the European Parliament. To receive our our weekly Newsletters by email, please fill out the following field.