Overview
- The Council fixed the irrevocable rate at 1 euro = 1.95583 lev, formalizing a monetary peg in place since the late 1990s.
- Dual circulation begins Jan. 1 with euro-only payments from Feb. 1, and bank accounts and contracts in lev convert automatically at the fixed rate.
- Lev cash can be exchanged free of charge at the central bank without time limits, with dual price displays required through Aug. 8, 2026.
- Mass protests over the 2026 budget and the currency switch led Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov to resign, and the Constitutional Court blocked President Rumen Radev’s referendum push.
- ECB President Christine Lagarde cautioned that rounding may cause a slight, temporary price rise, a sensitive issue in the EU’s poorest member.