Euronews Romania, 30 december 2025
Table of contents
Summary
The interview with Bulgarian journalist Vladimir Mitev, founder of the blog ‘The Bridge of Friendship’, discusses the situation in Bulgaria in the final days leading up to its accession to the Eurozone on January 1, 2026.
Key Points:
- Pre-Accession Rush: There was a frantic rush among Bulgarians to deposit cash in banks (for automatic conversion) or exchange leva for euros at currency exchange offices. This high demand temporarily pushed the exchange rate to 2 leva for one euro, above the fixed rate of 1.95.
- Case of Cash Savings: The interview highlights a curious case where a large sum of leva (30,000) that had been stored with mothballs was deposited in a bank vault and subsequently caught fire due to contact with the air conditioning system, illustrating the common practice of keeping savings in cash.
- Divided Public Opinion: Bulgarian citizens hold divided views on adopting the euro:
- Pro-Euro supporters see it as the completion of the country’s European integration, a symbol of true belonging to the European community, and a potential step toward greater control over the Bulgarian banking system.
- Anti-Euro opponents view the national currency, the leva, as a symbol of national dignity and prefer to maintain their own institutions for exercising financial and political independence.
Intro
On 30 December 2025, a Euronews Romania team visited the Bulgarian city of Ruse to produce a series of videos about the situation on the eve of Bulgaria’s accession to the Eurozone. The text below is an interview conducted by Euronews Romania journalist Eduard Popescu with Bulgarian journalist Vladimir Mitev, founder of the Romanian-Bulgarian blog ‘The Bridge of Friendship’.
Vladimir describes the tense days leading up to Bulgaria’s entry into the eurozone, during which time Bulgarians were frantically depositing their savings or exchanging their leva for euros at an unfavourable exchange rate. The Bulgarian journalist also explains why some Bulgarians are happy about their country joining the eurozone, while others consider it a mistake.
Video
Interview
Final preparations for joining the eurozone
Eduard Popescu:
There are only a few dozen hours left until Bulgaria joins the eurozone and becomes the 21st country to use the single European currency. To better understand what is happening in our neighboring country, we will talk in the next few minutes with a Bulgarian journalist, founder of the Romanian-Bulgarian website Podul Prieteniei (Friendship Bridge). His name is Vladimir Mitev and, interestingly, we will conduct this dialogue in Romanian.
Vladimir, hello and welcome! First of all, how are you preparing for what is coming not tomorrow, but the day after tomorrow? I know that opinions are divided: there are people who are pro-euro, but also people who, of course, oppose this measure.
What is the situation in a nutshell?
Vladimir Mitev:
The situation is that many people have rushed to deposit their cash in banks in recent days, because there is a rule that on January 1, amounts held in leva in bank accounts will be automatically converted into euros. So, on the one hand, there were many people who went to bank branches, and on the other hand, currency exchange offices were also overloaded, with queues forming. It even got to the point where, due to the high demand for euros, the fixed exchange rate—which is usually around 1.95 leva for one euro—changed to 2 leva for one euro. Because there was the possibility of a profit, but also high demand, the market naturally dictated that the euro should become more expensive.
A curious case: someone’s savings caught fire in a Bulgarian bank vault
Eduard Popescu:
Rounding was used because there is indeed this fixed exchange rate of 1.95. I know that there are currently many people who hold large amounts of cash and are now trying to justify this money or make transactions, whether it be for property or cars. There have been some interesting stories; you were telling me earlier, and I would like to elaborate on the situation in which a large amount of leva literally caught fire in a treasury.
Vladimir Mitev:
Yes, now a fact that has been known for some time is coming to light: many people kept their money in cash, “under the mattress,” so to speak. In the current context, the currency change has prompted people to bring this money out into the open. This, of course, demonstrates the lack of an investment culture or the fact that there were no options for investing.
However, there have been some curious cases. For example, someone who kept their money covered in mothballs deposited it in a bank branch, in the vault. Interestingly, because it was mixed with mothballs, at some point it caught fire and part of the money in the vault burned. These are, of course, rather exceptional cases.
Bulgarian attitudes towards joining the eurozone
Eduard Popescu:
Yes, it was a sum of 30,000 leva, if I’m not mistaken, which simply caught fire. Because the money had been stored in mothballs, contact with the air conditioning system caused a flame to ignite. It’s a short story, but a very interesting one.
Please tell me, what are the opinions of Bulgarians in general?
How do your fellow citizens, your friends, the people you know, feel about this at the moment? Are they looking forward to January 1, do you see progress in this transition to the euro? Or, on the contrary, do you know many people who oppose the measure?
Vladimir Mitev:
I think it is specific to Bulgaria that we do not have a uniform opinion on many issues. Of course, there are people who are very happy. They believe that Bulgaria’s European integration process will be complete once it joins the eurozone.
So the desire to be equal to others in Europe matters a lot. For many people, the euro is a symbol of our true belonging to this community. It is also a sign that there will be greater control over the Bulgarian banking system, which is important for Bulgaria in the sense that, theoretically, certain machinations or “tricks” that are still being played will be limited.
At least, that is what we hope. On the other hand, the leva, the national currency, is seen by some as a symbol of national dignity. There are people who have been educated in the spirit of the idea that we should manage our own finances, that we can have our own institutions or mechanisms through which to exercise our politics and independence.
So these two currents are of major importance when it comes to the euro.
Conclusion
Eduard Popescu:
Thank you very much, Vladimir. We will continue to talk to Bulgarian citizens, to the people of Ruse, in the coming hours. We are here, near several banks.
People are making transactions, and many probably want to exchange large amounts of leva, even though they will be able to do so later. We will cover this topic in more detail in the following news reports and will return with more information from here, from the city of Ruse. Thank you once again for the information.
Here are some more materials from Euronews Romania on Bulgaria’s accession to the eurozone
Photo: (source: Euronews Romania, YouTube)
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