Listen up, bro, here's what I found out! You know our neighbors, the Bulgarians, rushed to join the eurozone on January 1, 2026, thinking it would be all milk and honey? Well, now their faces have dropped! Their Finance Minister, one Galab Donev, half-admitted they can't escape the "excessive deficit procedure" - meaning Brussels is coming to put handcuffs on their budget.
Specifically, the European Commission sounded the alarm because in 2025 they had a deficit of 3.5% of GDP, and this year it's going to 4.1%, next year to 4.3%. The threshold is 3%, bro! And Donev said clearly: "The procedure cannot be avoided." Now they have to cut spending by 0.5% of GDP, meaning tighten their belts. And just like that, the guys who hoped the euro would lift them out of poverty are now crying for the lev.
But what pisses me off the most is that when they were joining the euro, they kept nagging us: "See, we're serious, we meet the criteria!" Now, with a 3.1% deficit in 2024, they snuck in with lies, and by 2025 they were already over 3%. And their minister blames the former government for not presenting a financial report! Like, dude, you blew the budget and you're blaming others? Sounds like us, bro, when those PSD and PNL guys argue over who stole more.
And check this out, I loved it! A GERB MP, Temenuzhka Petkova, former Finance Minister, asked Donev why they don't make the budget and what measures they're taking. He replied they'll present the budget by the end of the month and that Brussels wants long-term reforms. But Petkova insisted the procedure is for 2026, not 2025, and that "there are no problems with the 2025 deficit." Come on, man, there isn't! Then why are you complaining?
And the kicker, Donev also said if they continue with these policies, the deficit will reach 7.4% of GDP and there will still be unpaid bills! Like, bro, they have low salaries, low pensions, but budget holes as big as a house. And we Romanians are called to pay, because we're neighbors and we get electricity from them, or something.
But why am I getting upset? In our country, the deficit is 9.3% of GDP, and nobody says anything. The Bulgarians, with 4%, are already in the procedure. I mean, I think the EU is stricter with them because they're newcomers to the eurozone. They would have already fined us so much we'd have to sell our car, but we don't have the euro, so we're still hanging.
Anyway, the lesson is clear: joining the euro isn't worth it if you don't have a healthy economy. The Bulgarians wanted to act big, now they're paying. Mioara, my wife, who watches prices at Lidl, said maybe Bulgarian products will get cheaper if they go into crisis. But I don't think so, bro. There, the state is in debt, not the companies.
The conclusion? We Romanians have an advantage: we're not in the eurozone yet, so Brussels leaves us alone with our 9% deficit. But for now, I look at the Bulgarians and say: "Thank God I'm not like them." But in the end, who pays? Still us taxpayers on both banks of the Danube.
