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Bulgaria to join euro area on 1 January 2026

(www.ecb.europa.eu)
257 points toomuchtodo | 4 comments | 09 Jul 25 00:44 UTC | HN request time: 1.082s | source
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isodev ◴[09 Jul 25 01:24 UTC] No.44505504[source]▶
Nice. It’s amazing to see the progress Bulgarians have made in the last 20 years after joining the EU. I can imagine it hasn’t been an easy process.
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petesergeant ◴[09 Jul 25 02:11 UTC] No.44505750[source]▶
Two things that surprised me when I spent a couple of months in Bulgaria:

* Bulgarian support for the EU is pretty low and people didn't think it made their life much better

* Bulgarian support for Russia is very high, like 50%, probably due to their historic help in kicking out the Turks

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mc32 ◴[09 Jul 25 02:18 UTC] No.44505782[source]▶
Also the experience of Greece not too far back and the austerity imposed by Germany is not quite forgotten. Varoufakis[1] can attest to its severity. The Greeks voted against it but Germany imposed its will.

[1]https://jacobin.com/2025/07/yanis-varoufakis-on-the-legacy-o...

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1. spookie ◴[09 Jul 25 03:30 UTC] No.44506107[source]▶
You know, there's Greece and Portugal. Mentioning these two as they got Troika following them.

Portugal managed to get out of the storm, and debt is now below GDP.

Greece took many bad steps trying to recover. And its debt shows that. Their governments have had a big part of the blame. Hell, at one point they didnt have enough money for citizens to withdraw from banks.

And that was before Troika.

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2. Ygg2 ◴[09 Jul 25 04:44 UTC] No.44506406[source]▶
> And its debt shows that. Their governments have had a big part of the blame. Hell, at one point they didnt have enough money for citizens to withdraw from banks.

Sure but so do the creditors. If you keep giving mortgages to anyone with a drivers license that's on you buddy.

At almost no point is there enough money for citizens to withdraw their money. Modern banks don't keep their assets as cash.

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3. guappa ◴[09 Jul 25 06:40 UTC] No.44506951[source]▶
> If you keep giving mortgages to anyone with a drivers license that's on you buddy.

Isn't this the USA system?

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4. Ygg2 ◴[09 Jul 25 08:35 UTC] No.44507598{3}[source]▶
Not just the USA system. EU and especially German banks gave plenty of credits to Greek banks, knowing that they will probably spend it on German products, even if they have not much means to repay them. Plus, the EU knows full well that if Greeks overspend they can easily be pressured into austerity.

This went swimmingly for everyone involved, with Greece now in more debt than ever (debt went from 145.45% of GDP to 209.40% of GDP). And fascist parties going from virtually non-existent to mainstays.

Adding low-efficiency countries like those in southeastern Europe is great for the EU's major exporter - Germany, because it adds more customers who have Euros, and because it devalues the Euro, which means more exports. Better yet, because of Euro the new joiners can't devalue their currency and get their exports high enough to restart the economy, with only viable option being more in debt and/or leaving for Germany, while obliterating the local industries. Win-win-win. For the EU exporters.

So, yes, let's celebrate Bulgaria joining Hotel EU, where food is great, your bill grows exponentially, but you can't ever leave. By the end you'll just end up as a pool boy.