Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Association for European Economic Cooperation assembly here on Monday, Vice President Iliana Iotova said in her key remarks that euro zone membership means security, economic development, higher living standards and an improved business environment. The forum, hosted by the Vice President, kicked off with an international conference entitled “The Future of the Euro and Bulgaria's Future in the Eurozone”.
Iotova cited Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as good examples because they were initially in a similar situation to Bulgaria, but all three achieved income growth of 80-120 percent within seven years of joining the euro area. Iotova also praised Croatian institutions for lobbying Croatia's European partners to include the country in the euro area.
The vice president said that joining the eurozone is a process based on the trust shown by both the people and member states. She warned against allowing far-right parties to scare the government away from approving Bulgaria's eurozone membership.
Iotova praised the National Bank of Bulgaria's proactive efforts towards Bulgaria's euro area membership. She noted that technical preparations must be supported by appropriate political action.
She said Bulgaria's accession to the euro area was a national strategic goal and a serious policy leading to further European integration.
The vice president said the euro zone had come a long way since the 2007-2008 crisis and the difficult recovery that followed, but added that the risk of a global crisis still exists today.
“The crisis led to economic stagnation, poverty and social exclusion. There was no action plan during the crisis and the whole EU was in disarray, especially after harsh austerity measures were imposed in Greece,” Iotova said. She said the reforms needed to strengthen the euro had been discussed for many years.
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