Bulgaria is joining the euro. Here's what it means for consumers and businesses

On New Year's Day, Bulgaria will achieve its decades-old goal of joining the euro currency union and deepening ties with the more prosperous countries of Western Europe.

Membership is expected to promote cross-border trade and investment, and the Bulgarian government pressed for years to get in. Yet polls show the changeover is taking place against a background of widespread skepticism among ordinary people.

Here are things to know as Bulgaria and its 6.4 million people become the 21st member of the European Union's shared currency:

In the run-up to the big switch, price tags and bank accounts have had to show both currencies, at the fixed rate of 51 euro cents to the outgoing currency, the lev.

Bank accounts will automatically be converted.

People will still be able to pay in levs for about a month, but they will start getting their change in euros. Old notes and coins are expected to be out of the economy in a matter of weeks.

Until June 30, old money can be exchanged for no fee at banks, post offices and the Bulgarian Central Bank, and indefinitely at the central bank.

Membership means Bulgaria is part of a much larger economic entity — the eurozone, with its internationally used currency and central bank that sets interest rates across the currency union.

A single currency means that, for example, Bulgarians can vacation in neighboring EU and eurozone member Greece and not have to exchange money or come back with leftover bills and coins they can't spend at home. The euro also makes it easier for people to compare prices when shopping online across borders or planning travel.

Companies that trade with the rest of the eurozone will no longer have to bear the costs of currency exchange, savings worth an estimated 1 billion levs per year, according to the Bulgarian National Bank.

Bulgaria also gets a seat on the European Central Bank's governing council — and a voice in decisions on interest rates and monetary policy.

Countries that join give up some economic policy tools, in that interest rates are set by the ECB in Frankfurt, and they can no longer devalue their currency to gain competitiveness or trade advantage.

However, Bulgaria gave that aspect of economic sovereignty up long ago because it fixed the lev's exchange rate to the euro.

Bulgaria officially committed to joining the euro and swapping out its national currency, the lev, when it joined the EU in 2007.

That’s typically the case, though two countries — Britain, which has since left the EU, and Denmark — got opt outs. A third, Sweden, shelved the issue after voters said no in a referendum. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Romania have not taken the steps needed to join the eurozone.

To adopt the euro, countries must first exhibit a stable exchange rate with the euro and keep inflation, debt and deficits within the limits of an EU rulebook. EU leaders make the final decision on admitting a country to the eurozone after review by the executive Commission and the European Central Bank.

A protracted debt crisis in 2010-2015 saw speculation about Greece leaving the euro and Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Cyprus needing bailouts from other eurozone members.

Since then, the EU and the European Central Bank have taken steps to prevent a repeat, including moving banking regulation to the ECB and setting up a rescue fund. The ECB has also expanded its ability to backstop countries afflicted by market turmoil by intervening in the bond market if needed.

The EU’s Eurobarometer poll from March showed that 53% of 1,017 people surveyed opposed joining the eurozone, while 45% were in favor. A separate Eurobarometer poll, taken between Oct. 9 and Nov. 3, on a similar sample, similarly showed that about half of Bulgarians opposed the single currency while 42% were in favor. The margin of error was about plus or minus 3.1 percentage points for the March poll.

Much of that resistance appears to come from fears that inflation will increase as merchants round prices up during the changeover. Some also fear the loss of the currency as a symbol of national sovereignty.

Those fears are not so much about the euro but about general economic worries and skepticism about officialdom, said Dimitar Keranov, program coordinator for engaging Central Europe at the German Marshall Fund in Berlin.

They are “more about economic anxiety and low institutional trust overall, not ideological concerns against the euro or the European integration of Bulgaria,” Keranov said.

Bulgaria ranks as the second most corrupt country in the EU after Hungary, according to Transparency International. It also ranks near the bottom in income levels, with average wages of 1,300 euros ($1,530) per month.

Disinformation spread on social media and attributed to Russian efforts to sow dissension among EU countries has also played a role, Keranov said.

Experience shows that there is a slight, transient bump in inflation after joining.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said that in earlier euro changeovers, the impact was 0.2% to 0.4% percentage point and quickly faded.

“Before adoption, uncertainty is natural,” she said. "But once households and firms begin using the new currency in their daily lives — and see that a credible central bank is safeguarding price stability — confidence grows."

After adoption, public opinion shifts in favor of the euro by an average 11 percentage points, ECB economists Ferdinand Dreher and Nils Hernborg wrote in a blog post.

Some price hikes can be more apparent than real. Economists say restaurants and hairdressers may hold off revising their menus and price lists ahead of the switch, meaning price increases already in the works are simply showing up with a delay.

A girl poses as she holds new euro coins with Bulgarian symbols in Sofia, Tuesday Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

People wait in line to buy packages of new Euro coins with Bulgarian symbols at the doorstep of Bulgarian National Bank, in Sofia, Saturday Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

A woman passes by a graffiti reading "No to the euro" altered to "Yes to the euro" in Sofia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

New Euro coins with Bulgarian symbols reflected in a table seen backdropped by Bulgarian and EU flag, Sofia, Tuesday Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Dozens of people are presumed dead and about 100 injured, most of them seriously, following a fire at a Swiss Alps bar during a New Year’s celebration, police said Thursday.

“Several tens of people” were killed at the bar, Le Constellation, Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said.

Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families but “that will take time and for the time being it is premature to give you a more precise figure," Gisler said.

Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general of the Valais Canton, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage.

“At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.

Officials called the blaze an “embrasement généralisé,” a firefighting term describing how a blaze can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a flashover or a backdraft.

“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Rénard, head of the regional government.

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, Rénard said.

Helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to assist victims, including some from different countries, officials said.

“We are devastated,” Frédéric Gisler, commander of the Valais Cantonal police, said during a news conference.

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, according to regional councilor Mathias Rénard.

The municipality had banned New Year’s Eve fireworks due to lack of rainfall in the past month, according to its website.

In a region busy with tourists skiing on the slopes, the authorities have called on the local population to show caution in the coming days to avoid any accidents that could require medical resources that are already overwhelmed.

The community is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the Matterhorn, one of the most famous Alpine peaks, and 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Zurich.

The highest point of Crans-Montana, with a population of 10,000 residents, sits at an elevation of nearly 3,000 meters (1.86 miles), according to the municipality’s website, which says officials are seeking to move away from a tourist culture and attract high-tech research and development.

The municipality was formed only nine years ago, on Jan. 1, 2017, when multiple towns merged. It extends over 590 hectares (2.3 square miles) from the Rhône Valley to the Plaine Morte glacier.

Crans-Montana is one of the top race venues on the World Cup circuit in Alpine skiing and will host the next world championships over two weeks in February 2027.

In four weeks’ time, the resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers for their last events before going to the Milan Cortina Olympics, which open Feb. 6.

Crans-Montana also is a premium venue in international golf. The Crans-sur-Sierre club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course with stunning mountains views.

From left, Mathias Reynard, State Councillor and president of the Council of State of the Canton of Valais, Stephane Ganzer, State Councillor and head of the Department of Security, Institutions and Sport of the Canton of Valais, Frederic Gisler, Commander of the Valais Cantonal Police, Beatrice Pilloud, Attorney General of the Canton of Valais and Nicole Bonvin-Clivaz, Vice-President of the Municipal Council of Crans-Montana during a press conference in Lens, following a fire that broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

A skier walks in the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

A banner stating that fireworks are prohibited due to the risk of fire is pictured near the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)