Balgarianovinite.com The Coordination Centre on Euro Adoption in Bulgaria will hold a briefing later on Tuesday at the Council of Ministers, the government press service announced.
During a briefing last week, Vladimir Ivanov, Chair of the State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Wholesale Markets and Head of the Coordination Centre, stated that giving change in Bulgarian levs when euro banknotes are available is absolutely prohibited by law. He described the practice of traders returning change in levs despite having euros on hand as “extremely unpleasant” and characterized it as “self-initiated actions by certain traders.” Ivanov added that both citizens and businesses should ensure they have sufficient quantities of euro banknotes and coins without waiting until the last moment, as all necessary conditions for exchanging levs into euros have already been put in place.
Fines for refusing to give change in euros range from BGN 600 to BGN 7,000, Alexander Kolyachev, Acting Chair of the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC), said. He said he expects that over the next 15 to 18 days all traders will act in good faith and comply with the law. Legislation clearly states that change must be given in euros, and only in cases of insufficient availability is it permissible to give change in levs. Where violations are identified, the law provides for sanctions. Kolyachev added that the CPC has already initiated a significant number of proceedings, mostly following complaints and reports from citizens.
Defaced or damaged euro banknotes will not be reimbursed by the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), instead they are retained, which is why traders are advised not to accept such banknotes, BNB Chief Cashier Stefan Tsvetkov said.
More than one hundred bank branches are operating on Saturdays to exchange levs for euros, James Jolovski, Secretary General of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria, said. He added that a full list of bank branches open on Saturdays is available on the Association’s website, as well as on the websites of the individual banks. Coordination Centre on Euro Adoption in Bulgaria Holds Briefing 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-20 06:42:50 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law