Bulgaria finally has a government, but will reform be on its agenda?

Adoption of the euro as early as January 2026 is now a real possibility for Bulgaria, if its new coalition can stick together.

For the first time since 2021, Bulgaria has a permanent government, although not, perhaps, the government it needs.  

On January 16, the country’s parliament approved a cabinet led by Rosen Zhelyazkov (pictured above), a former parliament speaker, ending years of political instability—including no fewer than seven general elections in the space of just over three years. 

Zhelyazkov is a member of the centre-right GERB party, which won 69 seats in the 240-seat legislature at Bulgaria’s last parliamentary election in October. His cabinet includes members of leftist, populist and centrist parties—but its majority is thin, commanding just 125 seats. 

While Zhelyazkov has vowed to maintain Bulgaria’s pro-European and pro-NATO course, part of the coalition is the Bulgarian Socialist party and the populist There is Such a People movement—both of which have members with pro-Russian sympathies. The openly pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party is not part of the coalition, however. 

Perhaps most importantly, We Continue the Change/Democratic Bulgaria, a reformist coalition, is also not part of the new government, meaning that while the country could be set for a period of relative political stability, the real reform Bulgaria needs (notably clamping down on corruption and reform of the judicial system) is unlikely to go ahead. 

Nevertheless, Bulgaria will refocus on adopting the euro, Zhelyazkov said, with an adoption date of January 2026 now a real possibility. 

Bulgaria has fulfilled all criteria for membership (the last was bringing its inflation rate within the bloc’s range) and a positive assessment from the European Central Bank is expected in the coming months.

Photo: Parliament of Bulgaria.

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