A national ESC discussion brought together government, business, trade unions, civil society organisations, monitoring bodies and partners from member states
Nominal wage growth in the euro area since accession has exceeded inflation many times over and real income growth has been recorded. Control by the institutions and reliable information to the people on key issues will ensure a smooth transition to the euro in Bulgaria. This became clear during the national discussion “The euro area effect. The Experience of Member States”, organised by the Economic and Social Council (ESC) within the framework of the Communication Strategy for the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria.
The event attracted a wide range of participants – members of the ESC from employer, trade union and civil society organizations, representatives of the executive and legislative authorities, BNB, control institutions such as CPC, CPC, FSC and NRA, etc. Special guests were also representatives of ESC’s partner business, trade union and consumer organisations from Latvia and Lithuania – countries that have successfully gone through the process of joining the euro area.
“State authorities are on the ground, monitoring price dynamics and will seek answers for their unjustified rise in some specific commodities. Which has nothing to do with the euro, because we don’t have a euro yet, but the information that we might have one is inspiring certain market players to take proactive action. And the Commission for Consumer Protection, the Commission for Protection of Competition and the Communications Regulation Commission, as national regulatory authorities, will be in place,” said Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, who opened the forum.
The path to the euro is not just a long-standing political line and following certain causes and consequences, of achieving a high degree of convergence, but a matter of national prestige, the prime minister stressed. He pointed out that the role of the process of informing the public by the institutions and organisations is essential so that every single person can draw their very clear conclusions.
The aim of the discussion was to present information based on real experience and verifiable facts on the impact of euro area membership, as well as to answer the questions, fears and expectations of businesses, consumers and organisations.
“We need to start a serious discussion so that people’s fears are not fuelled. Speculation is one of the reasons why today’s discussion is taking place, where the topic is being commented on from the point of view of employers, trade unions and business organisations,” said ESC chairperson Zornitsa Rusinova. “Citizens’ scrutiny is one of the surest ways to stop attempts to speculate on prices in the process of introducing the euro.” The president of the ESC called on citizens to be active, especially after the start of the double marking of prices in euro and in euro in all shops. “If people see that the price of a certain commodity has changed within a week, they should report it to the controlling bodies – the CPC, the CPC and even the local authorities.”
In the course of the event the participants stressed that reliable and objective information is a key tool to counter misinformation and to build public trust in the euro area accession process.
“Our goal is for businesses and citizens to be fully prepared and calm in this important historical moment for Bulgaria, said Deputy Finance Minister Galya Dimitrova. She highlighted the numerous and significant benefits for our country from the introduction of the euro. “Removing currency risk and reducing transaction costs will support both businesses and citizens. We expect an increase in foreign investment, an improvement in the country’s competitiveness and more favourable conditions for financing the state,” the deputy finance minister stressed, adding that the introduction of the single European currency will contribute to improving the quality of work of state institutions, reaching the most developed countries in the EU. “Last but not least, joining the euro area will strengthen Bulgaria’s role in setting European monetary policy.”
Bulgaria is not following an unfamiliar path, but one that a number of European countries have successfully followed. Their experience and the results achieved are the strongest argument that with good planning, control by the institutions and commitment to society, joining the euro area is a step forward for the stability and prosperity of the country. The good example of the Baltic States was also pointed out by the BNB Deputy Governor Petar Chobanov. The positive assessments of the latest convergence reports of the European Commission and the European Central Bank are proof of the country’s significant progress, he said.
“We have achieved this in an environment of global uncertainty, but with resilience and responsible policy. We are entering the final stage of preparation – with a final communication campaign, with the active involvement of institutions, trade unions, businesses and consumer organisations. Dual price labelling is already a fact in many places, controls have been strengthened and the BNB’s commitment remains price stability,” the BNB Deputy Governor assured.
The experience of Latvia and Lithuania, shared during the forum, clearly showed that after joining the euro area, incomes in these countries have grown substantially in the 6 to 10 years after euro adoption. Increasing purchasing power, stability and predictability of the economic environment have led to increased investment and better living standards.
The participants in the discussion paid special attention to the widespread myth about the surge in prices after the introduction of the euro. The experience of Member States clearly shows that with good preparation, awareness and effective control mechanisms, there are no preconditions for massive and unjustified price increases. It has also become clear that the most frequent speculative attempts after the introduction of the euro in other countries have not been related to food or fuel, but to individual services, and timely government intervention has played a key role.
The government and the social partners have already committed to a memorandum of cooperation against speculation in the introduction of the new currency. The control institutions – the CPC, the CPC and the NRA – have announced joint actions for market monitoring and effective control.
The discussion addressed specific aspects from the business, income and consumer perspectives. Employers, trade unions and civil society organisations represented in the ESC expressed their consensus support for Bulgaria’s accession to the euro area, underlining their readiness to be a reliable source of information and analysis.
See more in the presentations of some of the panellists:
- Effects of the euro area on competitiveness and investment
Daniela Bobeva, Institute of Economic Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
- Effects of the euro area on incomes and prices
Plamen Dimitrov, President of the CPSU and Vice-Chairman of the ESC of the employees’ organizations
Maria Filipova, Chairperson of the Consumer Protection Commission
- Presentation of Member States’ experiences
Egle Stonkute, Analyst Economist, Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists
Henriks Danuševičius, President of the Latvian Trade Association
