Bulgarian official representatives are on a visit to the European Central Bank and the European Commission for a detailed discussion of the procedures and time schedule for Bulgaria’s accession to the Banking Union and ERM-2. On Tuesday, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov announced that Bulgaria would run simultaneously for accession to the so-called Eurozone waiting room and the European Banking Union. Until recently the position of the Bulgarian government was that a priority should be given to ERM-2 accession that should be followed by accession to the Banking Union. In practice however, the country has been left with no choice. Membership of the Banking Union of the Eurozone implies that the European Central Bank will carry out supervision of large banks in the country and do the decision-making for banks in trouble.
According to Goranov, the simultaneous membership of ERM-2 and the Banking Union is a big challenge. "There is no other country which has traveled this path. There are many unclear things regarding procedures and time frame,” the finance minister pointed out.