Roumania Elieva answered without hesitation, as if it were obvious: “Nobody wants the euro here.” Standing in front of the shoe-shop she has run for 30 years, Elieva shared the general frustration that prevails in this poor neighborhood on the outskirts of the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. On January 1, Bulgaria dropped its currency, the lev, and adopted the euro, but celebrations were limited. “Here, salaries are low, bills keep going up, all the money goes to food and electricity. People are afraid that the euro will push prices even higher,” Elieva explained. That morning, she had only sold one pair of slippers.

At Sofia’s “cooperative market” – a name inherited from the communist era – the measure was equally unpopular. Throughout the chaotic passages crammed with small shops, discussion turned around the soaring cost of living, wages that hovered around €500 a month, and “unfair” competition from the “Chinese supermarket” (a big-box store opened by a Chinese family, offering goods that were more tactfully displayed and cheaper).

Overall, Bulgarians remain deeply divided on the issue: 51% said they were against the euro, while 40% supported it. Its adoption, however, might be the least of their worries. As the country switches to the single currency, Bulgaria is in the midst of a major political crisis – it has no budget and is run by a caretaker interim government while awaiting its eigth legislative elections since 2021.

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