THE WORLD AHEAD 2026 SOFIA GALA DINNER

PRESS RELEASE
THE WORLD AHEAD 2026 SOFIA GALA DINNER
“Bulgaria in the euro zone:
Charting new paths for the country and the region”
February 12th 2026 | Grand Hotel Millennium Sofia
Live streaming: YouTube Economist Impact SE Europe Events / www.hazliseconomist.com

Iliana Iotova, president of Bulgaria 
The euro is a tool for achieving much greater goals, such as making Bulgaria part of the European policies and increasing the standards for European and Bulgarian citizens, according to the president of Bulgaria Iliana Iotova. She commented that Bulgarian citizens could have been better prepared for this milestone. The key is to increase the trust in the euro, emphasising the need of monitoring prices and combatting speculation. She also referred to the need of political stability and the need of revising security strategy in terms of income, social policy, industrial infrastructure, and not only defence. Ms Iotova referred to the slowdown of Europe’s economic growth comparing to China and US and commented that stringent fiscal rules stifle business. She expressed support for deeper economic integration within the EU and criticised the slow implementation of the Draghi report. Ms Iotova urged the need for reforms in areas such as the Investment Union, digital euro, lifting internal barriers, Europe’s strategic autonomy and bureaucratic simplification. She rejected the idea of a two-speed EU and, finally, stressed the importance of Bulgaria’s manufacturing sector and natural resources within the context of EU’s strategic autonomy.   

Joan Hoey, editor of the Democracy Index and Europe consultant of the Economist Intelligence
Europe is facing major challenges, according to Joan Hoey, editor of the Democracy Index and Europe consultant at Economist Intelligence, explaining that we are seeing an intensification of great power competition, especially between US and China, together with major shifts taking place in the energy and tech spheres. The global shifts are eroding old alliances, raising questions about Europe’s economic, political, and military standing and role in the world, she noted. As the Draghi report has highlighted, the productivity gap between Europe and US has widened rather than narrowed since the 1990s, Ms Hoey mentioned. She said that growth in Western Europe is going to be weaker than in southern Europe and that the CEE and SEE countries’ growth is outperforming EU’s average for some years and will continue to do so over the medium term. She mentioned that Bulgaria will have a GDP growth of about 3% in 2026 and noted that trade-related risks remain very high and that the US tariffs are going to curb EU’s growth, with Germany being the worst affected. Ms Hoey focused on Bulgaria’s prospects underlining that she expects quite strong investment in Bulgaria over the medium term. There are deficiencies in infrastructure and in the institutional environment as well as demographic headwinds, she added. Inflation in the country will trend down but remain above 2019 levels. Bulgaria has a strong fiscal framework as the country’s public debt/GDP ratio is among the lowest in Europe. The potential for the region is very favourable, but success is not guaranteed, Ms Hoey concluded.

Philip Lane, member of the executive board, European Central Bank
Bulgaria now has a seat at the table and is helping to shape ECB policymaking, stressed Philip Lane, member of the executive board at the European Central Bank. He referred to the challenges facing Europe, such as revisions to the global geopolitical equilibrium, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, demography, the threat to environmental sustainability and shifts in the international financial system. It should be clear that a common monetary policy constitutes the best response to the external risks, he noted. Mr Lane referred further to the benefits of the larger-scale monetary systems. Among others, he underlined that larger-scale monetary systems can afford to undertake infrastructural innovations such as the digital euro project and the Pontes and Appia projects. He emphasised national policy challenges and key issues for Bulgaria, such as the need to improve the quality of institutions and governance in order to improve the business environment, the efficiency of public administration, tax compliance, transparency, judicial independence, social inclusion, and reduce corruption. He noted that Bulgaria has a robust domestic fiscal framework. As is the case for all member countries, these jointly decided area-wide policies need to be complemented by high-quality domestic policies and a high-quality domestic institutional framework, Philip Lane concluded.

 Dimitar Radev, governor, Bulgarian National Bank
“From a practical perspective, monetary conditions in Bulgaria have been closely aligned with those in the euro area a long ago the formal membership. What has changed is the institutional position; Bulgaria participates directly in the formation of the common monetary policy”, stressed Dimitar Radev, governor of the Bulgarian National Bank. He underlined that price stability remains a key component of public trust. He mentioned that inflation in Bulgaria was 2,3% in January, broadly aligned with the price development in the euro area. He further addressed possible economic and fiscal implications of adopting the euro, as well as the policies needed within this framework. “Sustained price stability is not sole responsibility of the monetary policy. It also depends critically on the quality of the institutional framework and on the consistency, credibility and predictability of the economic policy”, he said. He added that the environment for the euro zone is characterised by heightened geopolitical and financial uncertainty and also referred to the issue of corruption. The euro area membership changes the country’s risk profile, he noted, also mentioning that SE Europe remains heterogeneous, yet the degree of interconnection is increasing.

Yannis Stournaras, governor, Bank of Greece
The adoption of the common currency is a historic milestone for Bulgaria, and a step towards further integration, making the euro family stronger, stated Yannis Stournaras, governor of the Bank of Greece. He further noted that the entry of Bulgaria into the euro area will allow the country to reap the full benefits of participating in the monetary union, reducing country risk and furthering anchor Bulgaria into European institutions. He drew on Greece’s experience to highlight the benefits of the euro adoption referring more specifically to the lessons from the Greek crisis from the previous decade. “We, in Greece, but also in the euro area, have grasped the opportunity to learn from setbacks and policy mistakes”, he noted, adding that any country adopting the euro needs to maintain a prudent fiscal policy, prudent wage and price formation, strong institutions, structural reforms and strong banking supervision.

Referring to the reconstruction of euro’s architecture, Mr Stournaras stressed: “Supported by stronger capital and ample liquidity buffers, the banking sector has shown remarkable resilience in the face of severe shocks, including the pandemic and geopolitical tensions”. He further stressed the significance of the Banking Union, the European Stability Mechanism, and the European Systemic Risk Board. “Completing the banking union –especially through the establishment of a European deposit insurance scheme– and launching a Savings and Investments Union would significantly reduce financial fragmentation”, Mr Stournaras concluded.

Lubo Minchev, founder and chief executive, Telelink
The growing role of renewable energy and battery storage in Bulgaria’s economic development was emphasised by the founder and chief executive of Telelink Lubo Minchev. Although the country is still lagging behind neighbours like Greece and Romania in wind and solar, improved productivity of solar panels and battery systems, coupled with declining costs, is creating stronger returns on investment, he mentioned. With energy costs remaining relatively high, the deployment of new renewable assets presents a major opportunity to boost competitiveness. Mr Minchev also highlighted increasing interest in data centre development, driven by better energy efficiency and the ability to leverage these resources effectively. Telelink is collaborating with a local company to deploy Europe’s first battery energy storage system under the EU Net-Zero Industry Act, serving as the first customer and partner in rolling out initial projects. Furthermore, he stressed Bulgaria’s future role in the region’s energy network and also underlined –among others– the importance of digitalising the interaction between businesses and the government.

Rayna Mitkova-Todorova, chair of the board of directors, EOS Bulgaria
Bulgaria has completed a historic cycle by joining the euro. But the real question now is not whether we are inside or outside Europe — it is what kind of country we choose to be in Europe, according to Rayna Mitkova-Todorova, chair of the board of directors of EOS Bulgaria. From a business and investment perspective, the biggest risk to Bulgaria’s prosperity today is not corruption alone, but instability and unpredictability: institutional volatility, policy reversals, and regulatory overreaction. The adoption of euro completes an important long journey, but no currency can replace institutional maturity, Ms Mitkova-Todorova stressed. The euro gives us access and opportunity, but only institutional maturity and strategic consistency can turn that opportunity into long-term growth, she added. “In today’s world predictability is the new competitive advantage”, she mentioned among others.

Carlos Mulas-Granados, regional resident representative for CEE, IMF
“In 2000, when Bulgaria started accession negotiations, its GDP per capita was less than one-third of the EU average; today it is two-thirds of the average”, according to Carlos Mulas-Granados, regional resident representative for CEE of the IMF. “While adopting the euro is a milestone, it does not on its own guarantee higher standards of living. The task now is to take euro adoption, pair it with good policies, and push convergence to the next level”. He stressed that Bulgaria should now address short-term challenges to make sure the economy remains stable and focus on increasing its medium-term growth potential. Mr Mulas-Granados referred to challenges Bulgaria is facing in terms of an ageing population, labour shortages, and a labour productivity per person that is barely half of the EU average. He also mentioned large digital skills gaps and low investment in R&D. To counter these trends, Bulgaria needs to incentivise inactive workers, employ foreigners, facilitate the return of skilled Bulgarians, improve education outcomes and digital skills, he underlined. He stated that “closing half of Bulgaria’s structural gaps could lead to an increase in GDP by around 6% over the medium-term. The next couple of years offer a unique window of opportunity to make these changes”. Finally, Mr Mulas-Granados stressed the need for Bulgaria to use its leadership and newly gained voice in the EU and the euro area to push for the completion of the EU single market.

Dimitris Papoulis, chief executive, Trade Estates
Bulgaria for us is part of our footprint and now the euro adoption for us means stability, predictability, comparability and also new means of financing real estate investments, said Dimitris Papoulis, chief executive of Trade Estates. Providing an example that he considers a very big opportunity for Bulgaria, Mr Papoulis referred to the greenification of existing real estate as relates to the energy convergence issues. Concluding, he mentioned that the country is in a new state of business mindset and environment for real estate. It’s much more easily comparable in euro terms, it is more sustainable and predictable and it creates an opportunity in this market for institutionalising capital driven from the private investment perspective that real estate has to date, Mr Papoulis noted among others.

Rakan Rahbani, executive director, Aurubis Bulgaria
“One thing is very clear: we are entering a decade of metals”, said Rakan Rahbani, executive director of Aurubis Bulgaria during The Economist’s Annual The World Ahead 2026 Gala Dinner in Sofia. Over the next decade alone, global demand for copper is expected to grow by more than 20 percent, he mentioned, adding that in a world of geopolitical realignment, access to critical raw materials is no longer just a business issue. It has become an economic and strategic one, thus creating significant opportunities for regions that can combine industrial capability, skilled people, stable institutions and a clear long-term vision, highlighting Bulgaria’s many strengths within this context. At the same time, Mr Rahbani also focused on the existing challenges, such as the intensification of competition for critical raw materials and the regulatory environment. “We need predictable frameworks, reliable and competitive energy systems, and a shared understanding that a strong industrial base is a cornerstone of Europe’s resilience and competitiveness”, he commented.

Detailed agenda: www.hazliseconomist.com  |  www.bulgaria2026.economist.com

Gold Sponsor: Telelink Infra
Silver Sponsor: Aurubis Bulgaria
Bronze Sponsors: Geotechmin, EOS Matrix
Contributor: Lino 3D
Supporting organisations: Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association, Hellenic Business Council in Bulgaria
Telecommunications provider: Nova
Logistics supplier: DHL Express
Contributor: GLOA Design & Marketing Services
Web development: e-milles creations