The amount of euro banknotes that will be needed for monetary circulation in Bulgaria after the country enters the Eurozone amounts to 520 tons, which is equal to 25 autotrucks, and the amount of euro coins reaches 3,600 tons or 181 autotrucks. This was stated on 20.11.2024 by the Chief Treasurer of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), Stefan Tsvetkov, during the Euro Week initiative and the Tenth Annual Monetary and Economic Scientific Conference, which was held at the University of National and World Economy (UNWE) in Sofia.
According to Tsvetkov, who presented BNB calculations, the Bulgarian banknotes that will be withdrawn from monetary circulation at the expense of the new euro banknotes amount to 642 tons or 32 autotrucks, which if arranged one behind the other would reach the length of 5 football fields. To withdraw Bulgarian coins from circulation, 378 autotrucks would be needed, which would form a column 6.8 kilometers long.
“The issuing bank has the obligation to issue banknotes, store them, process them, but also to withdraw them from circulation and destroy them. There is no other institution in the country that has the right to both issue and destroy banknotes,” said Tsvetkov, indicating the volume of work facing the BNB in the context of entering the eurozone.
Tsvetkov pointed out that the number of Bulgarian banknotes in circulation amounts to 604 million with a total value of 29.7 billion leva, and Bulgarian circulation coins reach 3.3 billion with a total value of 615 million leva.
The Chief Treasurer of the BNB presented the vision of the Bulgarian euro coins, on whose national side the Madara Horseman is depicted (coins from 1 to 50 euro cents), St. Ivan Rilski (the 1 euro coin) and Paisii Hilendarski (the 2 euro coin).
“We used our tradition of levs to depict them on the euro coins,” said Tsvetkov, adding that the coins express our thousand-year history, which has no analogues among other European countries.
According to Tsvetkov, the euro banknotes and coins will be stored in branches in Sofia, Pleven, Varna, Plovdiv and Burgas.
He noted that the BNB will be able to continue issuing commemorative coins, which will be done through the national side of the 2 euro coin. In this way, Bulgarian commemorative coins commemorating key events in Bulgarian history will be issued within the entire eurozone. The BNB will also be able to issue so-called collector coins, which, however, unlike commemorative coins, will be able to be used for payment only within Bulgaria.
Tsvetkov recalled that after the adoption of the euro, there will be a period of 1 month in which levs and euros will be used in parallel in our country, after which within 6 months levs will be able to be exchanged without fees in banks and Bulgarian post offices. “Bulgaria has a clear path to accession,” said Tsvetkov, indicating that in his opinion Bulgaria should join the eurozone, since the advantages are much more than the negative sides.
The design proposals for the Bulgarian national side of the euro coins of all denominations: 1 euro cent; 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 euro cents; 1 euro and 2 euros were approved in November 2023 following a meeting of the Co-ordination Council for the Preparation of the Republic of Bulgaria for Membership in the Eurozone.
The euro coins have a common side and a national side. The common sides of the coins were designed by Luc Luiks of the Royal Mint of Belgium. They feature the images of the European Union or Europe, symbolising the unity of the EC.
In accordance with the regulatory requirements, each national side of the euro coins includes mandatory and optional features.
The mandatory elements included in the design of the national side of Bulgarian euro coins are:
The depiction of a circle of 12 stars, as in the flag of the European Union;
The inscription in Cyrillic of the word “BULGARIA” as the designation of the issuing country;
For Bulgarian 2 euro coins – an inscription, written sequentially along the back, on one half of which is written “GOD SAVE BULGARIA”, and on the other half – the same inscription is written on the reverse.
Selected optional elements included in the design of the national side of Bulgarian euro coins, such as:
Writing in Cyrillic on the obverse of the word “euro” on the 1 and 2 euro coins, “cent” on the 1 euro cent coin and “cents” on the 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 euro cent coins
Writing of the year of the introduction of the euro in Bulgaria “2025”.
The main elements of the design of the national side of the Bulgarian euro coins are the design of the current Bulgarian circulation coins:
– The Hungarian Horseman – on the 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 euro cent coins;
– St. Ivan Rilski – on the 1 euro coin;
– Paisius Hilendarski – on the 2 euro coin.
The reason for this is that the symbols on the current Bulgarian coins are well-established and well-received by the citizens of Bulgaria. This approach will ensure the transferability of the current to the new euro coins in Bulgaria and their easy recognition, while at the same time confirming and extending the Bulgarian identity through the well-known symbols on the Bulgarian coins.
The proposed designs were developed by “Monneten dvor” EAD.
The proposed designs are now to be submitted for approval by the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the eurozone member states.
Following their approval, these designs will be used for the production of euro coins with the Bulgarian national side.
In implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Republic of Bulgaria, the Member States of the euro area, and the European Commission for the start of the production of euro coins and for the preparatory tasks prior to the start of production, initially 8 denominations of euro coins with the Bulgarian national side will be produced in quantity up to 1 million pieces for each denomination for testing the quality of the produced coins and certification by the Bulgarian Mint.
The actual production of the required quantities of euro coins from the Bulgarian national side will be carried out following the Decision of the Council of the European Union on the adoption of the euro by the Republic of Bulgaria.
Illustrative Photo by Stefan Petrov: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-coins-on-the-stones-14042374/
