Illegally Using the Euro: Is Bulgaria the Next to Officially Join? - TLDR News

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Officially joining the Euro is a difficult process, something that Bulgaria and other countries are currently learning. As such a couple of countries have decided to just use it it illegally, without the EU's permission. So in this video we track Bulgaria through the process of joining and learn why some just give up and adopt it unilaterally.
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1 - ec.europa.eu/info/business-ec...
2 - www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/con...
3 - www.ft.com/content/b955c22f-1...
4 - www.reuters.com/article/us-eu...
5 - www.ft.com/content/b955c22f-1...
6 - ec.europa.eu/info/business-ec...
7 - bqk-kos.org/banking-operation...
8 - Bogetic, Zeljko & Petrovic, Pavle & Vujosevic, Zorica. (1999). The Yugoslav Hyperinflation of 1992-1994: Causes, Dynamics, and Money Supply Process. Journal of Comparative Economics. 27. 335-353.

[@ihatehandles3]

In Albania euro is used more than Lek If you get a job (unless its government job) the salary is in euro You want to buy/rent a house/car , euro You buy home appliances , euro You buy bread , lek

[@bazzfromthebackground3696]

So your house and car are nice, but your fridge is empty? Or do you have that "cushy government job."

[@mocanuteo6947]

@@bazzfromthebackground3696 Um…you can exchange currencies.

[@Frahamen]

@@bazzfromthebackground3696 which weirdo puts bread in a fridge 😬😬

[@97Corvi]

@@mocanuteo6947 how often do you have to do It during a week?

[@rohankishibe8259]

@@Frahamen yeah, who puts their bread in the fridge, my family put it in the freezer...

[@Sir_Gerald_Nosehairs.]

There's no such thing as "illegally" using the euro. It would be illegal if Bulgaria printed it's own. Any country can use any other nations currency if it chooses, it just comes with certain problems, like no control over interest rates, inflation, no lender of last resort, and having to purchase said currency.

[@hurri7720]

A good example is the large use of dollar in both the Soviet and later Russia not to mention it's no problem to use the euro in both Sweden, Denmark and Norway too. And if you wonder why so many Brits keep on babbling about the euro crisis and its imminent death it's because the euro surpassed both the yen and the pound to become second only to the dollar leaving the pound as number four.

[@Sir_Gerald_Nosehairs.]

@@hurri7720 I'm British. Am also a Leave voter. I just don't wish the European Union any ill, and am not stupid enough to hope for a currency crash thinking it won't affect us at all.

[@JohnSweevo]

Exactly, click bait headline

[@tesoulx]

Yes!, for example Ecuador uses USD Dollars. That's legal, the thing is they depend on the FED for the monetary measures, etc. What a shitty analysis, it's like the "extreme" right wings parties ignoring the extreme left woke parties.

[@bremCZ]

That's not entirely true. While practically you're correct, there are some technicalities that make it illegal. The actual physical piece of currency itself belongs to the issuing agency in the same way that your passport belongs to the govt, not you. It is therefore illegal to use it without the consent of the issuing agency. Legally you can tender anything as payment, but if it doesn't actually belong to you and you don't have consent to use it, it becomes illegal.

[@selor8151]

Montenegro and Kosovo adopted the euro as easily as I adopted a penguin online

[@bengu3987]

This creates more questions than it answers

[@yahooboi261]

😂 😂

[@jaredtan890]

@@bengu3987 club penguin

[@rahulprasad2318]

Kosovo is illegitimate

[@trthib]

What's your penguin's name ?

[@tasadarbg]

You completely missed to mention that the bulgarian currency has been in a currency board since 1997, which is actually a world record. This means it has been tied to the Deutsche Mark and then to the Euro with a fixed rate. This means Bulgaria has been "using" the euro for a looooooooooong time. Not to mention the fact that Bulgaria has the second lowest debt to GDP in the entire EU, with only Estonia doing better there. You put too much emphasis that Bulgaria made a huge dept in 2020 during the covid crisis, when in fact the new dept was lower than average for the EU as well. All in all the only "real" road blocks are political decisions both within the country and in the rest of the EU. We will see how and if they will join the eurozone.

[@khankrum1]

You neglect the fact that there are only 8 or 9 million people on Bulgaria, and most of those are elderly living on less than 250 Euros per month!

[@tasadarbg]

@@khankrum1 Actually there are a bit under 7 million people living in Bulgaria and some of the elderly are living with under 150 Euros per month, so no I am not neglecting it at all. It is a horrible thing but completely irrelevant to the euro discussion in the video.

[@tisho91]

Spot on! Very well said, it is completely true!

[@z1rkel4o]

Also the political decisions relate to how stable the lev is in the currency board, it enforces local banks to make more informed decisions and we have the additional control where if the euro somehow sinks the country can just get off the board and control it's own currency. The transition to the euro is also pretty scary considering what happened in Greece after they adopted the euro.

[@khankrum1]

@@tasadarbg more than " some" pensioners live on less tha 150 Euros per month, that is the level of the existing Bulgarian state pension. The unemployement benefits are even less. The level of poverty in Bulgaria is very significant. The fact is the Bulgaruan economy would collapse if it joined the Euro. Prices would increase dramatically and Bulgaria could not afford the need for corresponding wage and welfare increases that would be nessasary to match it. Internal hyper inflation would become inevitable!

[@iwersonsch5131]

The e at the end of "Deutsche Mark" was not silent.

[@lenn939]

German doesn’t have many silent letters in general

[@iwersonsch5131]

@Ararune Depending on the dialect you have the e in Ampel, holen, Morgen etc., then some foreign words like Portemonnaie or Baguette have a ton, and if you want to count the h in Thomas or Lohn or the e in Lied or vier you can do that as well. I can't think of any truly silent letters in high German either though...

[@WayneAnonymous]

I think it is called Deutschmark in foreign countries. So in the end it's a translation not the actual German term

[@mgsp5871]

@Ararune We have the silent h as a prolongation as in 'Stuhl' which you have to pronounce as 'Stuul'

[@stefang5639]

Deutschmark was the informal international name AFAIK.

[@evilchairproductions482]

The Croatian government has a plan for 1/1/2023. It's earlier than Bulgaria's 2024. Why does no one mention that?

[@user-mf5ue6rc5n]

Because Bulgaria is more important for the big powers

[@mookymooksify]

because not enough croats watch this channel

[@MrTohawk]

Because Bulgaria just recently announced those plans and Croatia has been on course for a while

[@mkb6418]

Because Croatia I assume is on the right course, while Bulgaria, ehh. It's quite a different story

[@Vercixx]

Do you have a source for Croatia planning to join on Jan 1st 2023? I only found the Croatian PM talking about early 2023 "hopefully". But the biggest difference is that Bulgaria announced a date and some concrete details about switching to the Euro, while Croatia is just hoping it will do it in 2023, no detailed plans provided.

[@l4m3rxbg]

I don't think the question 'can Bulgaria keep the exchange course while in the waiting room' is valid. Bulgaria has been keeping an fixes exchange rate since 1997. And the central bank has 150%+ FX reserves...so it is pretty impossible to brake the peg .

[@TzvetozarCherkezov]

The only intelligent comment here.

[@AnexoRialto]

That's the only really valid test. If the currency peg survives the pandemic without triggering a forced interest rate hike, Bulgaria should be in. There's not much point in going on about deficits and sustainable finances when most every country in and out the EU has had their finances toppled by Covid.

[@varsam]

@@AnexoRialto Well the bulgarian CBA was created to hold the exchange ratio fixed. It holded from when its created 1997 and holded good to all economic crises until today. But to be honest i prefer not to change on euro or join EU waiting room.

[@editorrbr2107]

1.96 Lev = 1 Euro is a lot more robust than I’d have thought.

[@1996Horst]

well they worked hard to get there. and this exchangerate has remained relatively stable throughout the pandemic which is also quite impressive. I think bulgarias plans to join by 2024 are actually quite realistic.

[@HerrLBrodersen]

Well, its just the ratio betwenn Deutsche Mark and Euro (1,95583). The Lev was pegged to the DM, as were so many other currencies

[@1996Horst]

@@HerrLBrodersen yea but before 2011 the Lev was just a bit worse of, not much but they leveled it out so now you can call it stable

[@Micha-qv5uf]

It is similar to the Deutsch Mark when the Euro got adopted in germany

[@TzvetozarCherkezov]

@@1996Horst "well they worked hard to get there. and this exchange rate has remained relatively stable throughout the pandemic which is also quite impressive." - this is COMPLETE NONSENSE. Bulgaria didn't work hard to get that exchange rate at all. Bulgaria pegged the Lev to the Deutsche Mark in 1997 and later to the Euro when the Eurozone was created. The exchange rate of 1.96 to 1 has been the exact same for 24 years. It hasn't moved because it CAN'T move. Which means that your comment about it being "relatively stable" during the pandemic is even more nonsense. Again, it's pegged and the rate literally can't move at all. It's astounding that you'd comment on a topic when you have absolutely no clue what you're talking about.

[@stefang5639]

It's a good thing that they added Cyrillic letters to the euro banknotes during the last redesign. This will make it much easier for countries like Bulgaria to join, plus it probably helps countries with large Russian minorities like the Baltic countries.

[@tomlxyz]

Who needs to be able to read the word Euro in their writing system to be able to use it as a currency?

[@stefang5639]

@@tomlxyz it is just a sign of respect. Do you think your country would accept a currency with a different writing system like without Latin letters on it?

[@space.junk101]

​@@tomlxyz I do

[@hurri7720]

I remember when we in Finland adopted the euro (1998?), it's not without practical problems and what was quite obvious was that when companies converted the price to the euro they would rather round it up than down. But on the whole it was rather none dramatical.

[@seneca983]

It was in 2002 (for physical currency).

[@MaoThe1st]

Our fear here in Bulgaria is that it won't be just rounding up, but rather keep the number and replace the currency. Which would in effect mean everything doubling in price overnight. Probably won't be that extreme, but mark my words - 50% increase in actual price is VERY likely.

[@seneca983]

@@MaoThe1st That kind of phenomenon didn't happen in other countries that have adopted the Euro, at least no where near to that extent.

[@hurri7720]

@@MaoThe1st , well if the income is doubled too then it's not too bad, but on a more serious note it can't be that bad of course. What we did in Finland was that we did not take the 1 cent coins at all. A good solution and paying electronically this makes no difference. Paying cash again it will be rounded up or down as the smallest coin is 5 cent. Makes no difference, the important thing was to get rid of the 1 cent coins totally.

[@MaoThe1st]

@@hurri7720 Yes, but you live in a civilized and orderly European country. We're the Wild Wild Balkans here (ask any Greek, Romanian or Croat to confirm). People would genuinely go with making an extra buck today without thinking they're taking the economy tomorrow.

[@enricomonti156]

Well, the Euro is being illegally used in Kosovo and Montenegro. Whilst the other non-EU countries can use it because of bilateral agreements

[@blechtic]

You mean they have laws against using it?

[@enricomonti156]

@@blechtic they adopted it unilaterally by themselves, without any agreement

[@neodym5809]

@@blechtic There are no laws against using it, but if you want to join the EU, this becomes an issue, because a criteria to be met is a stable currency, which you can not meet if you have no currency. And Montenegro is on the waiting list.

[@talideon]

Both at least have extenuating circumstances, with both adopting it after breaking away from Serbia.

[@Salted_Fysh]

@@blechtic having a country start using a currency entirely on it's own, makes things awkward for financial planning. That risks the stability of the currency being used. That's why using the Euro is not allowed outside of sanctioned contractors. Finance is messy and complicated business. The law is kinda necessary.

[@fbkintanar]

I was hoping for a comparison with Romania, which joined the EU at the same time with Bulgaria. What are their plans, and why is it taking longer? What are official and informal attitudes in Romania towards the three Visegrad countries (Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic; the other, smallest,Visegrad country Slovakia joined the Euro from early on) and their go-slow attitude the the Euro?

[@edgepixel8467]

*EU Attitude* While Romania overall leans toward being EU-positive, the Social Democrat Party (the biggest one) or factions within it and their electorate can be EU-skeptic. Just a few years ago, the faction then ruling the PSD was spewing some very worrying anti-EU propaganda. Romania luckily dodged that bullet, but I think overall population confidence was negatively affected. The recent anti-Covid/anti-vaccine conspiracy propaganda didn't improve those numbers. *Visegrad Group* It's simply not a thing for Romania. Romania is not a slavic country and didn't have close historical ties with the Visegrad countries (cordial with Czechoslovakia but unfriendly with Hungary). *Joining the Euro* There has been too much other shit to deal with, so this was not a top priority. Besides recent political fighting, economical problems and corruption, Romania has long-been characterized by a lack of vision and long-term planning. To simplify, on a yes-no axis of converting to euro currency, Romania stands on a vague point between "Meh" and "Yeah, maybe, someday."

[@kamildvorscak5593]

Slovakia has managed to adopt euro before European debt crisis, but PL HU and CZ did not, and now they are afraid to adopt it. Were it not for the eurocrisis, PL HU and CZ would have already used the euro.

[@rosegreensummer]

there was a lot of resistance at the time towards both on the grounds of corruption

[@davidgreen5994]

Romania was too absorbed in political instability in the past 10 years, for the politicians to put work together to plan a switch to Euro... There are declarations made by them, like last time it was ''we shall join EURO by 2024'', but there isn't anything substantial put on together... the main problems Romania have is a lack of long term vision, and a total focus on internal problems... Like, half of Europe could go at war with Russia, and Romania would still be more interested in the new pension scheme or internal scandals than what happens outside the borders. At the same time, Romania is like a leaf in the wind, it goes where the wind gets it. If EU comes and tell tham that they should prepare to move to Euro, then they may be bordered to start doing something about it... Similarly if Bulgary does some steps forward in the direction, Romania may take notice and fell like they should do something to not be left behind. Romania doesn't really care about other countries joining before them, they joined EU before too anyway, but it could be bothered if Bulgary, who joined EU at the same time, would take a step before them. The main issue would be explaining the average Joe, why they should accept the move to Euro.

[@edgepixel8467]

@kkklau k You only want Transilvania? Why not the whole Romania? You guys seem to be a little better at administering your country. But it isn’t mine to give and it isn’t yours to take, anyway :) The history that both Romanian and Hungarians are taught in school about Transilvania is rather twisted. They are taught it’s rightfully theirs and we are taught it’s rightfully ours. The truth is both our ancestors happened to be in the area at the time ancient tribes were coalescing into nation-states. You ruled it for 1000 years, now let us rule it for 1000 years and then we’ll see :) BTW, the like is from me ;)

[@bangscutter]

Trivia: The BiH currency is pegged to the Euro, so it's practically like already using the Euro.

[@Mico605]

It isn't pegged to the Euro but is derived from Deutsche Mark.

[@bentels5340]

@@Mico605 It *IS* pegged to the Euro, at 1€ = 1.95583лв. It cannot be derived from the Deutschmark, because that doesn't exist anymore.

[@that1niceguy246]

@@Mico605 It and the Lev are pegged to the euro at the equivalent value the Deutschemark has

[@2712animefreak]

@@bentels5340 Deutschmark still exists in theory, it's just not the official currency of any country. In Croatia there are several laws that call for fines in "countervalue to DEM".

[@vasilzahariev5741]

But did you know that the Bosnian convertible mark and the Bulgarian lev are of equal value? 1 lv = 1km = 0,51 Euro

[@Emanuel-E]

Can you make a video about the recent pro-EU parliamentary election win in Moldova ??

[@catalindeluxus8545]

I am wondering about that too, an how tldr could ignore such an important geopolitical election as Moldova's (Russian troops in Transnistria)

[@RrRr-wj4xv]

user lover much?

[@dr.winner2516]

@@RrRr-wj4xv User lover?

[@srpskihayk]

The Euro is used unofficially in Bosnia, at least in Sarajevo. Not so sure about the sticks. 1 Euro will buy 2KM worth of goods. Not all places, but most "cash only" shops will take it.

[@action_frog9024]

That’s cool :) I hope y’all join us officially soon :D

[@action_frog9024]

@Underpaid Janitor why are you being rude bro :(

[@harukrentz435]

2KM worth of goods??

[@joaotwt2388]

@Underpaid Janitor that is like saying that japan is all furries and waifus '-'

[@vasilzahariev5741]

I don't see why Bulgaria would attempt to illegally use the Euro, when it's already on the path of switching to the Euro. The two years haven't elapsed yet, only one year so far and there haven't been any fluctuations of the Lev. The title of this video is really insulting, honestly.

[@Quickshot0]

Kind of clickbait I guess, yeah. Also misleading for those who only read titles.

[@ivokantarski6220]

Това е демокрация. Нашите еничари не ни питат эа нищо. В парламента вече 5 партии поне са Американска работа.

[@svetoslavpehlivanov5609]

You have missed something very important. The Bulgarian lev is not just pegged to the euro but under currency board. The difference is that under the board you have reserves in euro that cover every lev printed, meaning the central bank can exchange all printed levs and still have reserves . In fact it has almost double the amount to exchange all levs. Additionally the CB has a swap option with the ECB if needed. To top all that Bulgaria has one of the largest gold reserves in the area, and a trade surplus with the world, incl surplus in trade with countries like Germany and China. Therefore the lev is one of the most stable currencies in the world and does not need too get into the euro area from the back door.

[@captpicard6894]

I’m in the UK and still think that Brexit was the stupidest thing this Country ever voted to do. The way politics is going in this Country I’m quite confident that by 2030 Scotland and Northern Ireland will have voted for independence, will have left the UK, re-joined the EU, and started the process to adopt the Euro as well.

[@Xizario2]

Lev is plugged to euro from the first day of euro existence at 1.96... and at this point it does not even matter, as most people use electronic payments and nobody uses cash anymore.

[@0d138]

Yeah, no. Paper money is still the main method of payment in person and e-commerce is really not that common yet outside of a couple of specific demographics. Most people are still relatively skeptical about cashless transactions.

[@Xizario2]

@@0d138 tourists that come in Bulgaria pay with cards. And when we travel abort, we pay with cards. I know many people that don't carry cash at all. And some use change for small transactions like a beer from the local store. But even they pay everything big, like furniture, cars, bills, apartments with bank transfer or similar service. The total volume of cash transactions is pretty much nothing compared to the cashless.

[@erejnion]

@@0d138 Paying with cards is the most common method of payment in person in all of the big stores. Cash is usually reserved for smaller stores (esp in the province) where too little money move so the banks take higher percentages of the transactions.

[@ivanpetrov5185]

On which planet do you live, buddy? 90+ % of all transactions in Bulgaria are made in cash. Pretty much nobody gives a shit about electronic payments. There are restrictions about them as well.

[@Dionysos640]

Its not possible to 'illegally' use a legal currency. Many countries choose to use another countries currency (mainly the USD) which mainly just entails mandating that businesses accept it

[@rubenfhkamphuis]

THANK YOU.

[@1996Horst]

It is. What you are describing is a country accepting foreign money, which is by no means standard practise. Just look at the UK for that, where neither euro nor USD is accepted anywhere without exchanging either currency into BP first. While in Germany, as long as you use a creditcard or debitcard with a bank also present in the EU you can pay in BP, USD, SK and many other currencies. Because the exchange happens on set rates with currencies associated with the Euro. Venezuela right now uses USD, because their own currency is in chambles. So shops in the country do accept USD as well. But that is not the same as Venezuela saying their national currency is the USD. Because the US would never allow that. As the value of a currency is bound to a large part on the economical power and stability of its country or in case of the Euro its union partners. If say bulgaria where to adopt the euro without consent and then go into hyperinflation because of missmanagement the entire Euro would suffer. The ECB would be forced to intervene in another countries fiscal matters to safe the euro, which basically means the EU Members would have to bail out a non member to safe their own union. As stated in the video Monenegro is so smal that such a turn of events is very much unlikely and even if sth where toi happen the costs would be relatively smal.

[@Dionysos640]

@@1996Horst Thanks for the ramble. What's your point?

[@Dionysos640]

@@1996Horst You can have no impact on the value of a currency when you do not have any control or say in the monetary policy (mainly supply and interest rates) that governs that currency. It would be physically impossible for Bulgaria to have 'hyper inflation' while electing to use a foreign currency that it has no control of

[@bobobombastisch]

1:50 would be bad if some country would lie about any of those criteria 🇬🇷 Hey who dropped a greek flag here?

[@i.m.3940]

I actually lol'd hard at that one xD

[@vp3320]

Why the clickbaity title. I know you guys work hard and I like what you're doing overall. But constructive criticism here - this title makes it sound like Bulgaria is using the Euro illegally.

[@melaniek6714]

Thats something I've never thought of.. but its such an interesting topic! Thanks guys :)

[@drdewott9154]

If there's one thing I learned from this its that the Germans knew how to manage a currency. I mean the Danish Krone has also been pegged to the D-mark and subsequently the Euro for decades!

[@malikfall6263]

@@summerfish9320 Denmark is quite euroskeptic. In a national referendum in 2000 we voted to not adopt the Euro. Our current PM doesn't like the EU too much either.

[@malikfall6263]

@Ararune That's actually not the case. As was explained in this video, we're in the ERM II which means the Danish Crown is pegged to the Euro. This means that the ECB regulates our currency and only the Eurozone members have an influence when it comes to policy regarding the monetary union. Essentially, this means that we're subject to the exact same rules and financial regulations as the Eurozone members but without the influence the members of the Eurozone have. Therefore, the major benefit from joining the Euro would be to gain influence over our own currency, while stuff like exchanging would be a minor benefit. Also, having status as a Eurozone member places a country much more centrally in the Union, and Denmark's influence would increase overall.

[@thephidias]

@Ararune that is a huge benefit, though.

[@grimnir8872]

@@malikfall6263 Wrong again Europhile. being part of the ERM II means jack shit when you can simply withdraw from it and fall back on your own internally printed currency; If the EU starts to deflate or inflate, the Krone can cut ties and avoid the situation. Oh and "Having status as a Eurozone member places a country more centrally in the Union and Denmark's influence would increase overall" is straight up lies, You give up your own sovreignty for less power.

[@user-hl7bw8yw7n]

As a Bulgarian, I can't wait until we adopt the euro. The issue is that a large chunk of our population is severely misinformed about it. Some think that prices will be hiked up while salaries would stay the same, others think that we'll lose control over our monetary policy (which we do not have anyways since 1997). I hope that people will get better educated in the coming years and our economy will prosper by using the euro.

[@97Corvi]

Welcome to the euro family !!

[@vasil.kamdzhalov]

Валутата си е към държавата, няма какво много да се прави от други страни, ако стане нещо с еврото и ние ще сме ударени. Ако лева беше останал можеше да се измисли нещо, фиксираната сума споразумена с ЕУ не е точно контрол от наша страна, но ние си го премахнахме, за да можем да изпълним изискванията. Вместо да бъде само за влизане в еврозоната, а просто ако беше споразумение за стабилизиране на валутата пак щеше да стане. Валутата си е наред, но както се вижда предпочитате да се я захвърлим. Обмена с други валути по света нашата е една от най-силните и просто лично бях проверил с какво количество се променя, не са много дето са по-добре от нас. Това е крайна сметка е в полза за ЕУ не точно за нас. Само можеш да се надяваме, че валутата няма да има кризи, каквито не е имала до сега ( за еврото ). Липсата на избор не е хубаво нещо в крайна сметка.

[@firelaf1284]

It's so dumb, considering we've been pegged to the euro for so long. We're essentially using euros already since Germany has. In 1999 we pegged the Lev to the Deutsche mark and when they switched, we pegged it to the euro. We've been essentially using the Euro since 2002. There is no reason to think prices will rise. It's just not how supply and demand works

[@tim3440]

I dont hope Bulgaria gets the EURO... Again a weak country adopting the currency...

[@piccalillipit9211]

I lived in France at the time of the switch over - prices shot up significantly, mostly on food. If you are on a low fixed income it will be a massive % increase for you as and when Bulgaria adopts the Euro. FYI - I now live in Bulgaria and the price of food is going up dramatically over the last three months anyway.

[@alexbanks9510]

ads at the end are so much less obtrusive and i find myself not skipping through them but actually watching them, whereas before id skip through the intro ads

[@KhaalixD]

Great video!

[@joshuaedwin4337]

Nice to hear a new voice

[@ronni315]

Can you make a video about Croatia EU integration? Namely eurozone, Schengen Area and EEA?

[@kuhar12]

When Croatia will resolve its border disputes, then Croatia will be admitted to Schengen, otherwise.. bye bye Schengen for Croatia.

[@Azaghal01]

@@kuhar12 "Border disputes" ? I think you mean *a* border dispute. The only one that matters, since it's with another EU member. The one with Slovenia. The one over which Slovenia burned its political capital to condition Croatia's EU accession on the borderline arbitration, only to get caught with a hand in the cookie jar when their arbitration judge was caught on tape colluding with a government official. Yeah, I don't think that one's going to be much of a problem. Especially after Croatia did a lot of favors to Germany by doing the dirty work of breaking the international law for years in order block refugees at the Balkan migrant route.

[@tihomirrasperic]

@@kuhar12 Croatia will be in Schengen in few month After buying Rafaele, France will support Croatia and force Slovenia in dog house

[@wateo1782]

@@Azaghal01 Excellent reply to that fake Austrian.

[@ems4884]

@@Azaghal01 There's also a border dispute with Serbia and questions about whether or not Croatia is satisfied with it's current border with Bosnia. They are all EU candidates. Obviously their candidacy is ... Let's call it "uncertain" but there's an EU interest in stabilizing the West Balkans, not aggravating it. Still, i wish Croatia well. Resolving these questions is simply long overdue.

[@nikoladd]

On inflation mentioned in the video. Inflation in Bulgaria nowadays is primarily related to increasing standards. Since Bulgaria is "the poorest EU country" there is a lot of catching up to do and that leads to inflation. As opposed to currency depreciation induced inflation, which does not happen in Bulgaria any differently from Eurozone countries. So that's why the ECB is not really concerned that much with the slightly higher inflation Bulgaria had in 2020.

[@sinom]

the e in "Deutsche Mark" is NOT silent. (German doesn't have a silent e)

[@sciencefliestothemoon2305]

German hardly has anything silent😁

[@bentels5340]

No, but in German you can run adjectives into nouns. So Deutschmark is also correct.

[@sciencefliestothemoon2305]

@@bentels5340 according to the Duden, it is rare and outdated, so outdated it is considered rarer than Reichsmark.

[@Enlitner]

I'm not german but learnt in school to differentiate wider (contrary) and wieder (again) by the silent e :)

[@sinom]

@@Enlitner that's not a silent e. It's a diphthong. That basically means ie is treated as a single vowel that's a long i (or English e) sound.

[@danielsykes7558]

Great piece

[@endijivladi2297]

Video: has my country Me: instant happiness

[@travelwithrado]

That was quite funny "Illegally Using the Euro". You might know that Bulgarian currency is bound to Euro since the great inflation in 1996/97 (What's called Financial Stability Board) and we have the same exchange rate to euro - 1.9558 lv.

[@perryjoshi-godrez9860]

When an argument "Begs the Question," it means that the argument is circular. It does not mean the same as "Raises the Question". While this mistake is becoming more and more common, it does somewhat diminish your perceived authority.

[@hyunjinki1995]

3:06 Bulgarian lev was firstly pegged with German marks back on 1999 after Bulgaria cancelled 3 zeros on their monetary value

[@mappleman8881]

Kosovo adopts the Euro: EU: Nothing Montenegro: Adopts the Euro EU: Okay buddy you went too far

[@VictorECaplon]

Well…since Kosovo is not recognized as a country, the EU cannot complain about it. Since it is still officially Serbia which has its own currency, its like Kosovo accepts a secondary, non-binding currency…at least on paper.

[@dracolee_072]

@UCqBdg4ECRXaHJXwKyupjSjg yeah, but being a country and being recognised as a country are different things

[@kostam.1113]

In Serb majority regions of Kosovo dinars are still used in addition to Euro making things even more complicated

[@SwissSareth]

Well, Montenegro has crippling debt to China. Probably factors in on the decision.

[@Skibbi198]

EU simping for a country that's not even real

[@theconqueringram5295]

This was an interesting video on the Euro, thank you.

[@quintiliano-carnevalemathe6580]

As a great supporter of the Euro, I think the big prize for the EU is to get Poland to join it. Getting Bulgaria in is just a way to show Eastern Europeans that it is safe and they’ll be better off joining it. The other countries are either too small or too poor, so neither are a big deal for the Eurozone… but 40 million Polish, relatively young, with high education levels, 3° largest exporter in the EU, that’s the Holy Grail. And it would be really beneficial for Poland as well, I hope they understand that sooner than later, and Bulgaria could help it.

[@maciejrogalinski]

Yeah, I support that

[@trthib]

Poland is one of the most problematic country for the EU now. It is more of an hostile partner than a strategic one and will therefore unlikely be given any oportunity to get more influence in any way(it would use it against the EU).

[@arturobianco848]

@@trthib i agree poland needs to be a better team player. Lets hope the voters agree with me and vote the pis out.

[@blacksky7091]

Nice sweet-talking, but the answer is no, it's a miracle Poland is still in EU

[@DJH1312]

A major problem is that the exchange rate between euro and zloty (polish currency) is 1 to around 4 or even higher, kind of hard to change to a currency 4 times the worth of your own

[@hanquanphoon5664]

"German Deutsch[e] Mark" = German German Mark?

[@eoghan.5003]

Well the currency is called the Deutsche Mark and it makes sense to add "German" for people who don't know

[@r8rgtrs]

“Deutschmark” is a common name for the former German currency in English. From this perspective, “German Deutschmark” is hardly worse than “French franc”

[@uninstaller2860]

R.I.P in peace :(

[@josarkar3929]

It's because there was also reichsmark Goldmark and papiermark used by germany before they called mark so deutsche mark is called to differentiate from those

[@LiveFreeOrDieDH]

@@eoghan.5003 In that case, should just be called "German Marks".

[@PabloTBrave]

Currency substitution is not illegal despite what the EU claims a country can peg it's own currency to any other or use whatever currency it wishes ( however you lose many benefits from doing so as you have not control over the currency ) and happens to many countries,

[@PabloTBrave]

@Ararune do you mean as a member of the EU or just " using the euro " if it's the latter currency substitution is normally done by countries with weak or failed currencies.

[@alanjenkins1508]

​@Ararune I imagine the primary benefit is that forces a country to balance its budget, raising taxes or cutting spending if necessary, and being able to blame the EU for the restrictions. There is a risk a country will go on a mad borrowing binge backed by the new strong currency, like Greece, so the EU is ever tightening financial controls on its member states to prevent this.

[@georgesbv1]

@Ararune simplifies transactions abroad without hefty commissions when exchanging money or just buy with a card that is not in that currency. This also simplifies the life of small businesses that have some contracts abroad - otherwise they might need a hedging contract to keep the promised euros to the same amount of local currency which can be volatile against euro. Other economies are "dollarized" (in Europe, likely former deutsche mark or currently euro) - many purchases are/were expressed in a different currency: real-estate (land, apartments, rent), cars (buy/rent), telecom contracts (which rely on global technology, but also the workers' wages), previously also the computers where in euro (e.g, in Romania we had +125% per year inflation in the end of the 90s - so the prices where in dollars to extend viability of the offer, although the actual pay is done in local currency).

[@ems4884]

European law applies to members of the European Union. Obviously it does not apply to nonmembers. You're only thinking of international law. But that's not the subject here.

[@ivaneurope]

While it is mandatory to pass all criteria to join the Eurozone, some countries choose not to on purpose. A great example is Sweden, who choose to keep the krona after a referendum in 2003 saw 56% of the Swedish population in favour of keeping the krona as Sweden's national currency.

[@grimnir8872]

Yeah it turns out tying your montary value to a foreign power is a dumb move unless you're poor.

[@ivokantarski6220]

Bulgaria is not a democracy. That's why our politicians dont ask us anything.

[@mikel9138]

That's the most retarded thing I have ever saw, what do you mean you are not a democracy? There are literally parties and a government that is elected by the people. If the people are too stupid and continue to vote for liars and thieves then it's not the fault of democracy

[@ZSide33]

Bulgarian here, we had a second snap election on the 10th of July with some interesting results, maybe you could do a video on that? Edit: for some reason I wrote 10th instead of 11th, sorry about that

[@theworsttriangle9669]

so, is this topic covered because of the recent Bulgarian parliamentary election?

[@antonioklaic4839]

Euros are unofficially accepted by stores in Bosnia (B. Posavina at least)

[@walrus1074]

are you a bosnian croat? and also how is the political situation there in bosnia

[@antonioklaic4839]

@@walrus1074 yes. I have lived in Germany for 4 years now though and I don't follow Bosnian politics that much tbh but it still has the three president system and all that and nothing's changed much. People are leaving fast. I go to my home village and the streets are quite empty. There are a lot of empty houses owned by people who live abroad now. My aunt from my mother's side and an uncle from father's side both ran for local office, and I find the idea of my family becoming politicians quite funny, although it is a big family. Last time I went there a Jysk was being built on the edge of my village and neighbourimg city. Don't know the value of the investment since the population is shrinking and isn't getting any richer, I assume.

[@albinh.3149]

@@antonioklaic4839 In a lot of countries the EURO is accepted. Bosnia is not a unique case.

[@forenamesurname6147]

Glad you're asking ME whether any country should or should be allowed to join the euro - I'm a real expert!

[@ilesalmo7724]

One of the downsides of € is that without a national central bank, a country can't do monetary tricks like devaluation when such things are needed. This has caused problems in Italy and Greece. Also leaving € is impossible because all people with wealth would immediately leave the country

[@Volatile-Tortoise]

Would they be leaving because they’d lose money in the conversion process if they stayed? Why would that be the case?

[@ilesalmo7724]

@@Volatile-Tortoise Investors like money to be stable. New money has always been unstable while the country figures out the prices of assets. Also the logistics of transporting goods from one market-economy to another take time and money to get figured out. These things cause recessions. Post-USSR countries had easier time in changing currencies (rubles->their own 90's currency-> €) after the collapse. They already had their currencies spiraling, so it was easy to change worthless currency to another new worthless currency and then start building the new one up

[@gohanssj48]

I think it's weird the EU worries that countries uses euro as currency. Obviously, they can't print or be part of the ECB, but the dollar is used so much in failed countries that even has a word for this (dollarization) without any negative consequences to the US. It even strenghten their position as reserve currency.

[@NLTops]

I don't think the EU worries about them using it. After all, there are no actions taken against this at all. Like you say, they can't print or be part of ECB, and there are really no downsides to other countries buying and using your currency as it only strengthens your currency value. Bulgaria obviously wants to join the Eurozone, and as members they will in due time. If anything it's a good effort on their part. Once the requirements are met the transition will be swift and smooth because the entire population is already somewhat used to it and products that are already bought in Euros won't see a price shift. This is a pretty clickbait video..

[@kopkaljdsao]

It's not really a danger for the EU if Euro is used without permission, but it could give 3rd parties some interesting ideas that are a pain to deal with. I am talking anything from tax evasion to new EU members trying to skip the Euro adoption procedure.

[@kablg81]

Wait a minute so if my savings are in Lev's(Лв) in my bank in Bulgaria do I have to convert them to the Euro(€) before we join Eurozone? Or does the bank convert it for us? Does anyone have an idea?

[@kablg81]

@@summerfish9320 Thank you for the reply. 👍

[@Ivan2Jura]

Looking forward to the same update on Croatia! Had the exchange rate pegged for 20+ years...

[@georgipanayotov7666]

Hey can you do a video about the elections in Bulgaria

[@piccalillipit9211]

*I lived in France at the time of the switch over* - prices shot up significantly, mostly on food. If you are on a low fixed income it will be a massive % increase for you as and when Bulgaria adopts the Euro. FYI - I now live in Bulgaria and the price of food is going up dramatically over the last three months anyway.

[@rohankishibe8259]

Dude if you switch to any other continent they will join the EU 🤣🤣

[@f_youtubecensorshipf_nazis]

because of shortages related to the pandemic...

[@certaindeath7776]

the price increase had nothing to do with the currency, but with market related actions. the indirect capital costs in consumer prices rose. what are indirect capital costs? when u buy a piece of bread, and in the price your pay for it you pay not only production costs, but also the debts of the farmer, of the transport companies the backery and the market + the margins of the farmer, the transport, the supermarket etc. in austria capital costs of a piece of bread are like 80%, of which about 40% goes as work-free income to the banks and their shareholdes, which "invested" into the companies, 40% as margins to the companies involved to produce and bring the bread into the shelf, only the rest of the price are real production/processing/delivering costs

[@certaindeath7776]

@Ararune you wanna have shot answer in one sentence? No Problem: "Dont blame your currency, Blame the filthy rich, and the corrupt goverments, that protect their interests to get richer and richer" Or another one: "Blame yourself for not voting, (nearly all of the non voters are poor!), so that the well situated people that go to vote can bring a market liberal majority (or fake christ-democrats) into parliament, that serve their interests, not yours"

[@Ellipsis115]

I think you missed moldova on your thumbnail, not a big deal, just a detail you missed if you care about that

[@dvdv8197]

I had no idea there still unanswered questions about the Euro Levt. 😐🙈

[@luisduron2722]

Yes we will see

[@zemom.a.8171]

I really hope every EU member eventually gets to adopt the euro. Even the african union seems to think about euro adoption or invent their own pan-continential currency

[@ivokantarski6220]

Africa is full of political- economical colonies. Bulgaria in South East Europe is just that tho

[@Wextraa]

I hope my country (Sweden) never adopts the euro.

[@zemom.a.8171]

@@Wextraa is there a reason to it or...?

[@Wextraa]

@@zemom.a.8171 We want to rule over ourselves, we don't want Brussels to rule over us. Sweden should stay Swedish. The Swedish crown shall remain as the currency.

[@zemom.a.8171]

@@Wextraa brussels? Ruling over you? You realize that sweden has an active participation in how the EU makes its policies right? Its like saying "screw countries, I dont want [insert country] to rule over our city!". I dont get it. What do you gain by rejecting a bigger democracy?

[@tacozmacleo]

... I will like to point out the Bornholm, is a part af Denmark. So maybe it should not have the same colour as Sweden. :P

[@collybeans586]

I have no idea. I was hoping you were gonna tell me..

[@deannilvalli6579]

The title shows, as someone has already pointed out, how clueless this channel is. Countries outside the US have been using the USD for about a century now. It is not illegal. It is also not illegal to use the Euro outside of members of the Eurozone. Those using it but not official members simply have no say in monetary policy or printing money. Montenegro uses the Europ as its official currency, though it has no say in policy and is not even in the EU. This title is deliberately misleading or simply shows how the writers of this channel are misinformed.

[@sanctamachina]

0:21 Yuan: am I joke to you?

[@strofikornego9408]

yes Yuan you are a joke, the world does not trust communists with money

[@benjaminfacouchere2395]

Communists don't allow free flow of yuan. The reason being that demand for USD goods/properties is much higher in China than vice versa so the yuan would quickly devalue.

[@aizaddy]

Appreciate the videos on Bulgaria; I'm British but my girlfriend is Bulgarian and I've been there 3 times in the last year so it's useful knowing these things

[@jacksimper5725]

Bulgaria has mandated full use of the Euro and change over has been mandated to be completed within one calendar month

[@luisduron2722]

Yes we see

[@Veriox22]

As a greek, I'm glad to welcome bulgaria to the euro-club.

[@MagmaskyBG]

We are gonna suffer together..

[@emib6599]

Greece in that time gave fakes dates about the economy stability for joining. I hope Bulgaria this time is not hiding problems.

[@xxxxxx-rg6qr]

@@emib6599 because greece is fake state created by uk,russia,france against turkey thampon region

[@_blank-_]

@@xxxxxx-rg6qr Damn, you're saltier than Pamukkale

[@ipadair7345]

@@xxxxxx-rg6qr are you dumb, Greece had a revolt against the Ottomans like other countries. Turkey is the one which is fake as many Greeks, Armenians, and Abssyiads were genocided by your nation's government at the time. Even now, your country has oppresses Kurds, and other minorities.

[@lordgong4980]

(JOKE!) You'd think that those criteria would be meaningless at this point after Greece

[@Sir_Gerald_Nosehairs.]

Greece, Italy, Belgium, even France didn't qualify at the time. It would have just been politically unthinkable to exclude them.

[@fitmotheyap]

Meh I am in greece Kinda amazed how rich looking this nation is

[@chriskapou3519]

@@fitmotheyap tourism money ,also the government is bankrupt not the people lol

[@fitmotheyap]

@@chriskapou3519 tbh gj to the people then?

[@danditto6145]

Best reason to go to Scandinavia is they don’t use the Euro and the Swedish and Danish Krone is a better deal due to the Euros artificially high value. When I go to Europe every year , I come home with one or two items, the rest of the suite cases are filled with items from Denmark and Sweden.

[@r.a.3984]

We all hope so! I believe Bulgaria will join the eurozone and Schengen soon and it will partly boost the economy. As mentioned last two years was unusual so…

[@romkobomko3200]

There is no need to say german deutsch Mark. Word deutsch is adjective for german.

[@ulrichbrodowsky5016]

Technically I don't think it is incorrect: "Deutsche Mark" was a currency. And if you want to clarify that it's the German currency, you can say german deutsch Mark. On the other hand you are right: It's a tautology. (But some people may not know that "deutsch" is the German word for "german")

[@paulh.9526]

Deutsch Mark is the name of the currency Saying "German Deutsch Mark" is like saying "European Euro", or "French Franc". It make sense, but more than once is overkill.

[@uninstaller2860]

What about saying Germany's German Deutsche Mark from Germany's German Deutsche Bank?

[@romkobomko3200]

@@ElPolloRojo Currencie's name used to be "deutsche mark" in FRG and in DRG

[@ulrichbrodowsky5016]

@@ElPolloRojo As a matter of fact, Germany used several currencies called "mark". Also there where several other countries who used the "mark" as their currency. Obviously we're not talking about the 14th century, but to avoid any confusion it seems reasonable to talk about the "deutsche mark"

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

EU should’ve called their bucks as “Ducats” instead.

[@strongback6550]

Euro really does not roll off the tongue well.

[@michaelmartin341]

@@strongback6550 it sounds so much better in most other European languages pronunciation imo

[@georgewright4285]

@@michaelmartin341 they do sound good in neo-latin languages, not so much in Germanic languages

[@ravinchowdhury5215]

In German it is pronounced ‘Oi-row’ instead which I think sounds better

[@ravinchowdhury5215]

@@georgewright4285 How is it pronounced in Romance languages?

[@aurelspecker6740]

Well, it was always the goal that the Euro becomes a global currency. A counterweight to the US-Dollar. The fact that other countries adopt the Euro as their currency, without having a say in it, should therefore actually please the Euro group. It is just natural, that a stable, widely accepted currency is adopted in these countries.

[@nikoladd]

Bulgaria has been under monetary board since 1997. The exchange rate is already fixed to the EUR. So exchange rate, government overspending(budget deficit), CB interest rates are not concerns for Bulgaria, those are literally met by definition, unlike all other countries that need to comply with that criteria. CB legislation requirements are a formality really. If it wasn't for the financial crisis in 2008, Bulgaria would have likely joined the EUR long ago.

[@TechnoLion1]

Im swedish. If we were ever forced to adopt the Euro I would vote to leave honestly.

[@seal4150]

Bättre än den svenska kronan iallafall

[@VitoDeTullio]

but why?

[@vasil.kamdzhalov]

Well I don't like the decision integrating the euro so i hoped we had such choice but it kinda was already decided.

[@Molhedim]

@Techno Lion every country has to adopt the euro eventually, that's what they agreed to when they joined the EU. Also why not take Euro? it's better than national currency anyway. To me is a pain to switch currencies when you go to countries that don't have euro. Also...after what happened to UK, I don't think exiting is a good thing, it breaks up the country. Scotland wants independence, NI is also thinking of leaving, wales too. If sweeden were to leave, some parts would choose to go independent so they can remain in EU. Exiting the EU, is one of the most stupid thing to do.

[@Shambles7698]

LOL It's not fair to county who use Euro 🤷

[@dan8910100]

Zimbabwe is illegally using the U.S. dollar, doesn't mean they're going to apply for statehood

[@adrianafamilymember6427]

They should though We need a 51st state

[@MFlari]

@@adrianafamilymember6427 dc and puerto rico are _right there_

[@RandomgamingholstCoolgaming]

@@MFlari puerto rico is a stolen spanish colony though

[@MFlari]

@@RandomgamingholstCoolgaming we've had it stolen for so long we should've integrated it already. you could say the same about literally all of the southwest because we yoinked it from mexico. puerto rico does still hold a solidified puerto rican and usonian identity, and would hardly be any better than haiti if we just let it go anyways.

[@RandomgamingholstCoolgaming]

@@MFlari integrated? Only 5% of puerto ricans speak english.... The rest speak spanish. Also theyre catholic whereas the US is mostly protestant/angevilican.

[@josephfox7969]

Didn't hear you say"currency board".

[@liamnixon4428]

The thing is that the process of adoption of the euro is based on the assumption that a member state already has it's own currency and wishes to change it based on economic policy. States that point blank adopt the euro as their currency when they haven't used another at least for a long time are just adopting their first currency, one which is also international and can give greater access to markets in the EU, despite not being an EU member in the first place. This of course come's with it's own risks, but some states just take it, especially when they don't have any other choice. If Scotland manages to break away from the UK, I wouldn't be suprised if it suddenly adopts the euro, since it never really had it's own currency apart from the Pound

[@Swat_Dennis]

In my opinion, the Euro-zone has way too much criteria for letting new nations join whilst 80% of current nations can’t be held to the same standards.

[@TheBard1999]

That's more a problem due to lack of unified fiscal policy. Which is something that EU needs to tackle some day.

[@Musikur]

Have you done a video on why Denmark stayed with the Krone? If not, that would be an interesting topic

[@maxkirk944]

Or Britain keeping the pound even before they left

[@thedoughnought7329]

@@maxkirk944 there's loads of stuff about that already - look up Black Wednesday

[@kostam.1113]

Based UK and Denmark

[@DaDunge]

Why? Because they're reactionary and nationalistic.

[@ulfosterberg9116]

Denmark had a opt-out.

[@parmentier7457]

The six Dutch Caribbean islands have their own currency and the Euro is also accepted. However, the US Dollar is the most commonly used currency.

[@Evemeister12]

Difficult to enter, impossible to leave. Be careful what you wish for.

[@erikgranqvist3680]

The EU country that could adapt to the Euro most easy is probably Sweden. It is also a country that has shown close to zero interest to go from the Swedish Krona to the Euro.

[@luske2]

I'm Swedish and I've been very positive towards the Euro from the beginning, but you're correct. Sadly it is a prevalent opinion here that we would lose something special by moving away from our precious krona.

[@erikgranqvist3680]

@@luske2 I really do not have an opinion on Euro/Krona. I just know that the question kind of died when the problems in the eurozone and Greekland came to light around something like 2008.

[@luske2]

@@erikgranqvist3680 yep the latest polls show only about 20% of people here favour adopting the euro.

[@christotaku]

We already accept the euro as a legal tender in Bulgaria and the lev is pegged to the euro anyways but accepting the euro in the appropriate manner as required by law will give us a lot of benefits that we do not have right now. Like getting a bail out like Greece did.

[@malenlhewig]

Montenegro was like: Euro Neuro

[@Silvanais]

Since when did Bornholm leave Denmark, on the map at 0:44 it seems to have joined either Sweden or Poland.

[@TheGamingAlong]

I lost my last three brain cells trying to read the thumbnail.

[@paolosantiago3163]

"I'm from the Philippines but I love more the Euro currency more than the US Dollar yet I received money remittances yearly during the ber months since few of my loved ones living in France for many years .?!"

[@lukemars7726]

was the voiceover not done by jack ? Or jack has a cold or something?

[@prunabluepepper]

Which program do you use to make those videos?

[@MonsterIsABlock]

The EU be like: It is an OBLIGATION to use the euro! Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden: We don't do that here.

[@marneus]

Actually, most of those countries want to join the euro, they just don't meet the criteria yet.

[@cageybee7221]

montengro: well if you insist... EU: NOT YOU!

[@alph5230]

@@marneus Most of them don't want to, and so intentionally don't meet the criteria. Also Denmark and Sweden have an Opt-Out of the Euro, because they joined before it

[@cosmindvd]

@@marneus Romania don't want to join yet, and Romania in terms of gdp and gdp per capita and buying power is above Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary.

[@kevinboros7427]

@@marneus A lot of them are on the fence about joining, only Bulgaria and Croatia are actually making moves on switching to the euro. The others don't really know if it's worth it yet.

[@nikoladd]

The video doesn't address a very important question specifically: "Why would Bulgaria want to adopt the EUR?" In Bulgaria after the financial crisis in 1995-96 that lead to hyperinflation the drastic measure of the IMF monetary board was taken. Basically government spending and policy were regulated for many years in far stricter way then the Eurozone. Later the strict IMF board and requirements expired, but Bulgaria has stayed on the same measure never the less. In Bulgaria the monetary board financial stability is seen as key foundation, despite the heavy austerity cost it brought in. No Bulgarian politician since 1997 has dared touch that. Now joining the EUR provides similar currency stability to the monetary board, but with a lot less austerity and spending regulation. That's why Bulgaria wants the EUR. Basically Bulgaria has been keeping far stricter financial discipline then the Eurozone requires for 1/4 century, so Eurozone regulation is a relaxation of fiscal requirements. Eurozone crisis did affect Bulgaria anyway, because BGN is linked to the EUR, so that's not adding any additional concern. The primary reason other countries would want to join the EUR is usually currency stability. Bulgaria already has that through the monetary board.

[@InugamiTheHound]

I wonder if Bulgaira and Romania would adopt the currency together at the end same time around 2025? I think by then covid-19 is gone and these two countries would have more workers come back home and live in their home country because many of them left the UK and Germany,France and Spain to get long term jobs back in their home country. We saw this with greece after 2010 with euro crisis.

[@erejnion]

Romania has no chance of adopting the Euro any time soon. Thank the socialists for that.

[@docuziulian8892]

@@erejnion not only PSD also AUR has lied to the country

[@petyavelikova5066]

I wish we do it together with our lovely Romanians as we went through to so much and such a long way helping and supporying each other to our path and integration to the EU, I will be sad they will not come with us in the Eurozone, although its good to know our other greatest frriend in the region Croatia will be with us on the euro journey.

[@richard-king-]

Did Montenegro and Kosovo not declare independence several years after the DM ended (06 and 08 respectively, while the DM was replaced in 02)?

[@menice6736]

Man i cant imagine live without the euro, I literally never had any other currency than the euro in my hand

[@Fabii2000]

Not? Where do you live?

[@rohanofelvenpower5566]

go out

[@menice6736]

@@Fabii2000 the Netherlands

[@TheGentry000]

Go out and see the world

[@TheGentry000]

Go out and see the world

[@SirAntoniousBlock]

The Vietnamese _Dong_ has to be the best name for a currency.

[@garethbrown9191]

Most countries in the Eurozone don't meet the criteria and not one asked their populations if they wanted to join the Euro.

[@belltond1527]

Turn back before it’s too late

[@LiveFreeOrDieDH]

Bulgaria: 2.6% inflation. EU: That's high. 1970's: Am I a joke to you?

[@muratdagdelen8163]

Will 1 GBP hit 1 Euro?

[@UK_Hobbes]

Depends, if weaker economies join, the Euro will struggle to improve and may weaken.

[@michaeldunham3385]

anything is possible.....but I doubt it

[@shadowpat810]

If trends of last couple of years are taken into account then no

[@neres5795]

Thanks to Brexit...YES

[@97Corvi]

Idk, but i don't even know if It's a good thing or not 🤔

[@paragonaesir1957]

When sweden joined the EU we had 2 votes, first if we where going to join at all, and a 2nd one to adopt the currency. While the joining one was close, with 51% for, the currecny change was almost completly denied by the swedish population. While by "law" we might be obliged to adopt it, we wont.

[@The2wanderers]

The lev has been pegged to the euro for decades, and the deutsch mark before that. Indeed the difference between Bulgaria and Kosovo is basically that Bulgaria printed some money, said "it's exactly the same as a deutsch mark, just looks different" instead of just using marks. From the perspective of the euro area, what makes it different for a country to peg their currency, compared to a country that just adopts it. If Montenegro printed up some notes, said "they're worth the same as a euro, we don't really care if you use these or euros" would they suddenly be in compliance?

[@dayanbalevski4446]

Personally, I prefer the Bulgarian Lev, over the Euro... The Lev maintains our historical heritage, plus it is strong and stable... 1 euro = 2 leva, not that complicated.

[@danielelombardo8196]

Since when is the Lev a strong currency lmao

[@dayanbalevski4446]

@@danielelombardo8196 since its existance? By strong.. i mean stable and locked to euro... it isnt a weak currency either...

[@christos.5302]

@@dayanbalevski4446 That doesn't mean anything. It's as 'strong' as the euro as it is pegged to it. We just have less euros/levs in the first place lol. But it doesn't really matter if its euro or lev.