Igor Barat, Deputy Director General of Eximbank for Banking and former Government Plenipotentiary for the introduction of the euro, met yesterday, 26 November 2025, with Bulgarian journalists whose country will pay with the euro from 1 January 2026.
Igor Barát presented to the journalists the process of introducing the euro in Slovakia (€ in Slovakia since 1 January 2009) – from meeting the Maastricht criteria through the setting of the conversion rate to the dual display of prices. He also touched upon the impact of the introduction of the euro on Slovak exports:
Slovak exports remain strong despite the challenges. It is still dominated by automobiles and there is a growing need to diversify its exports.
A few €*Export facts:
The euro increased the probability of exports to euro area markets by 1.8%.
Total manufacturing sector exports increased by 18% after the introduction of the euro.
Average exports per product increased by 14%, accounting for 80% of total export growth.
Slovakia benefited from all the positive channels of the euro and did not face any compensating increase in competition.
(Source: Tibor Lalinsky & Jaanika Meriküll, The impact of the single currency on exports: comparative evidence at the firm level
Eximbanka is active in supporting Slovak exports: from an infrastructure project in Uzbekistan to water projects in Kazakhstan to the renewal of energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
Ani Dimitrova PhD; Bulgarian News Agency (BTA); Media Platform “24 Hours”; Svetozar Kostadinov; Bulgarian National Television; Bulgarian National Bank; bTV Media Group; Nova Broadcasting Group; Veli Panova, Maria Doychinova, Marta Mladenova, Bulgarian National Radio).