Bulgaria to take first steps towards euro

Bulgaria will take the first steps towards joining the euro before the summer, its finance minister said on Thursday (11 January).

Vladislav Goranov told a group of journalists in Sofia that Bulgaria will "most likely apply in the first semester" to the EU Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II), the mandatory phase before effectively adopting the EU single currency.

Goranov said Bulgaria had been "holding intensive discussions" with the European Central Bank (ECB) and eurozone member s...