Balgarianovinite.com The transition to the euro is nearly complete, as 87% of the lev supply have been withdrawn, and roughly BGN 3.9 billion remain in the hands of citizens, said Vladimir Ivanov, Chair of the Coordination Center under the Euro Mechanism and Chair of the State Commission on Commodity Exchanges and Markets, during a briefing at the Council of Ministers building on Monday.
According to Ivanov, a portion of the remaining levs held by citizens will never be withdrawn, as there is always a certain percentage that remains.
He noted that between February 23 and 27, Bulgarian Posts carried out 13,072 transactions totaling BGN 15 million. Since the beginning of the year up to March 2, 161,000 transactions for exchanging levs for euros were completed, with a total value of BGN 236 million. Ivanov added that tensions at the posts have also decreased.
He recalled that the Bulgarian National Bank will exchange levs indefinitely, while commercial banks and Bulgarian Posts will do so without fees until mid-year.
Between February 19 and 27, the Ministry of Interior recorded 20 new cases of attempted circulation of counterfeit euro banknotes, Ivanov said. Eight pre-trial proceedings have been opened for criminal offences, five administrative files have been registered, and eight inspections related to criminal activity have been conducted, he added. A total of 23 banknotes were seized, including 4 with a denomination of EUR 200, 6 of EUR 100, 8 of EUR 50, 3 of EUR 20, 1 of EUR 10, and 1 of EUR 5. According to him, from the beginning of the year until February 27, the Ministry recorded a total of 163 attempts to circulate counterfeit euro banknotes.
Ivanov emphasized that the Ministry continues to actively implement measures and activities aimed at ensuring public order, citizens’ safety, the protection of the economic interests of businesses, and, consequently, the prevention of criminal threats related to the introduction of the euro.
The Commission for Consumer Protection carried out 201 inspections of commercial establishments and identified 15 violations between February 19 and 25. The commission issued 40 fines, 12 penalty orders, and concluded 23 agreements, Ivanov reported.
According to him, priority inspections focused on detecting price increases in restaurants, cafes, and entertainment venues. In cooperation with the National Revenue Agency (NRA), a total of 146 inspections were conducted at tourist facilities, restaurants, cafes, and confectioneries. Irregularities were found related to incorrect price conversions, lack of dual price display, missing or expired categorization, and absence of posted prices and weight indications in menus and price lists.
Based on complaints received by the CCP, inspections were also carried out at parking lots, car washes, beauty salons, hairdressers, transportation services, locksmiths, tailor shops, vending machines, and other businesses.
Out of a total of 3,752 goods checked, 260 were found to have unjustified price increases, Ivanov noted. These included certain types of fruits and vegetables, medicinal products, dairy products, and cold cuts.
He added that during the past week, the Commission received 1,180 complaints and signals, representing an increase compared to the previous week. From the beginning of the year until February 25, 307 reports of alleged violations of the Law on the Introduction of the Euro by online traders were processed, resulting in 7 fines and 35 violation statements.
The National Revenue Agency, for the period from October 10 of last year to February 26 this year, carried out over 10,163 inspections, which identified 580 violations of the Law on the Introduction of the Euro. A total of 771 fines for administrative violations were issued, along with 180 penalty orders amounting to EUR 450,733.
Ivanov added that between February 23 and 27, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency carried out 533 inspections of facilities producing foods from the small consumer basket. Irregularities were identified, including gaps in the implementation of internal monitoring programs, non-compliance related to building facilities and technological equipment, shortcomings in food labeling, and other issues. For the identified violations, 21 corrective orders were issued.
From the previous week, non-compliant results for physicochemical parameters were found in two dairy products, Ivanov noted, and orders were issued to take corrective measures. A total of 13 samples of fresh milk, flour, oil, and short-term sausages were collected from the commercial network nationwide and sent for testing. The results of the analyses will be presented next week.
Vladimir Ivanov also reminded that the BFSA is currently conducting active measures regarding the shipments of sunflower from Argentina.
Ivanov announced that the Coordination Center has new members: Acting Deputy Minister of Interior Kaloyan Miltenov, Acting Deputy Minister of Finance Metodi Metodiev, and Acting Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Dimitar Nedyalkov. Joining the Coordination Center is also the new Executive Director of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, Angel Mavrovski. With 87% of Levs Withdrawn, Euro Transition Is Almost Complete 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-03-02 11:27:43 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