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SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) \u2014 Bulgaria\u2019s prime minister said Friday that his country will adopt the euro despite a brief delay in its accession process, and added that this required \u201cabsolute consensus\u201d in the country.<\/p>\n
Boyko Borissov\u2019s center-right government had said earlier that Bulgaria wants to enter the two-year process that leads to joining the euro, called ERM II, this April. Its hope is that a swift entry into the eurozone would guarantee Bulgaria\u2019s deeper integration in the EU.<\/p>\n
There are widespread fears among Bulgarians that during the preparatory period the exchange rate of the local currency, the lev, against the euro could be revised and their savings may be hit.<\/p>\n
Speaking on national TV from Brussels, where he was attending an EU summit, Borissov said that plans to join the ERM II have been delayed by three months to July.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are heading to the eurozone waiting room only at this exchange rate and only if there is absolute consensus in the country,\u201d Borissov said.<\/p>\n
Bulgaria has since 1997 kept a stable exchange rate between its currency, the lev, and the euro.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n