Bulgaria in the Eurozone – Other Countries’ Experience and Comparisons

On July 10 2020 Bulgaria joined the preparatory mechanism for the Eurozone ERM II, but the opinions expressed are still divided. The author’s opinion is that in the debate for or against Bulgaria joining the Eurozone, the actual data provides the strongest arguments. Economic indicators and facts about five former socialist countries that are already in the Eurozone are presented in the paper. There are solid arguments in favor of joining in the analysis of the three Baltic countries – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as Slovenia and Slovakia. These countries’ development as part of the monetary union and their economic indicators after this important step show their goal for real convergence with developed European economies. The author accepts two issues as especially important – what happens to inflation in these economies after joining the Eurozone and what the comparison concerning real convergence shows. Croatia, along with Bulgaria, has become a part of ERM II and the Banking Union, hence why it is also included in the analysis.