www.ecb.europa.eu
1 January 2026
- Euro banknotes and coins start circulating in Bulgaria
- Bulgarian National Bank joins Eurosystem
- Bulgaria becomes 21st euro area member
- Bulgarian National Bank now also full member of Single Supervisory Mechanism following period of close cooperation
The euro officially entered into circulation in Bulgaria today, bringing the number of European Union (EU) Member States using the single European currency to 21. This follows on from the formal decision made in July, which also announced the official conversion rate of 1.95583 Bulgarian lev per 1 euro.
“I warmly welcome Bulgaria to the euro family and Governor Radev to the ECB Governing Council table in Frankfurt” said Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB). “The euro is a powerful symbol of what Europe can achieve when we work together, and of the shared values and collective strength that we can leverage to confront the global geopolitical uncertainty that we face at the moment.”