From this position, what the BNB is focused on today are two groups of tasks: the legal framework and the technical preparations. We have been working on these two topics methodically and consistently. As regards the Law on the BNB, we have two key dates. By the end of December we had to put forward amendments, ensuing from the convergence reports issued in recent years. I am talking about only a few amendments, but very complicated from a legal point of view, including the judicial protection of Governing Council members other than the Governor. We drafted these amendments, consulted the European Central Bank about them in accordance with the established practice, and submitted them, through the Government, to the National Assembly which approved them in December by a Law amending and supplementing the Law on the BNB. The second key date is 31 March 2023. By then we will have to draw up an entirely new draft of the Law on the BNB, which will incorporate the latest amendments and will govern all other issues relating to the Bank's operation within the euro area. Significant progress has been made on this draft. The first draft will be ready by the end of this month. We are going to devote the whole month of March to finalising the draft. The approach that we have adopted is to place the work on this draft on the broadest possible institutional basis, with the involvement of the management and of all key directorates and units of the BNB.
Dimitar Radev: Bulgaria on the road to the euro Speech by Mr Dimitar Radev, Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, at the conference "Bulgaria on the road to the euro", Sofia, 24 February 2023. *** Dear Mr. President, Dear Mr. Prime Minister, Dear Mr. Dombrovskis, Dear Ministers, Dear members of the public, Dear guests, First of all, I would like to thank the Ministry of Finance and Minister Rositsa Velkova for organising this conference. A proper assessment of the current situation related to our path to the euro area will enable us to make the right decisions. For this reason, I will touch on three issues: 1. Assessment of the current situation; 2. Possible solutions; 3. The role of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). At this point of time we are rightly talking about inflation, which is one of the nominal criteria for accession, the only one we are currently not fulfilling. Process-wise, legislation is not an insurmountable obstacle. The genesis of the overall delay in the process, however, lies in the political framework and more specifically in the political crisis of the last two years. The ongoing problems with the legislative program and with the domestic factors for high inflation are largely a consequence of the political crisis. As a result of this crisis, the budget process in the country is seriously disrupted. For the past two years, we have not had a clearly defined law on the annual state budget or a realistic macroeconomic framework and medium-term fiscal program.