Prime Minister Boyko Borisov says Bulgaria still aims to adopt the euro by 2022 despite resistance by some local businesses that fear greater scrutiny of the economy.
Borisov told a business gathering in Sofia on January 29 that one of the main benefits of joining the euro is that Bulgaria's banking system would become more disciplined.
As part of the euro, big banks in Bulgaria would be overseen by the European Central Bank, not national authorities that sometimes tend to be more lenient.
European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, who is in charge of the EU common currency, welcomed Sofia's plan.
Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov voiced hope that the country would enter the EU banking union this summer and trigger the two-year process to integrate into the common currency. That should allow the country to adopt the euro in January 2022, Goranov said.
The euro is currently the official currency of 18 of the EU's 28 member states, known as the eurozone. It was introduced in nonphysical form in 1999.
The notes and coins for the old currencies, however, continued to be used as legal tender until new euro notes and coins were introduced on January 1, 2002.