variable does not seem to be such a great challenge for us, compared to the issues discussed above. looking at the prospects and having in mind the country ’ s strategy for expeditious accession to the euro area, however, this is a macroeconomic variable which faces the country with the greatest challenges. the inflation criterion, as defined in the maastricht treaty ( this is not the place to deal with the issue how good this definition is ), is very strict and requires a purposeful policy going beyond the monetary and fiscal policies. in bulgaria ’ s case, under the currency regime of fixed exchange rate and extremely conservative fiscal policy, untapped prospects should be sought in encouraging competition and improving the business climate, thus ensuring to the economy the flexibility to respond to exogenous changes ( including with regard to the prices of raw materials ) and enabling supply to react more promptly to increases in demand ( both domestic and external ). in the past year, inflation reached 6. 5 % under the strong proinflationary impact of the increase in the prices of energy resources ( direct contribution of 1. 0 % in the overall price increase ). in addition, the largescale floods resulted in an unexpected increase in foodstuff prices ( contribution of 2. 6 % in the overall price increase ). this year, inflation is expected to decline to 6. 0 %. the slow process of decreasing inflation is mainly determined by the harmonization of indirect taxes with the minimum levels in the eu, pursued early in the year. as the change in indirect taxes and administered prices has a direct effect on domestic inflation, their catching - up adjustment should be effected before the years during which they will be used as basis for evaluation of compliance with the maastricht criteria – i. e. before 2008. from this perspective, earlier timing of harmonization of some excise taxes is a step to facilitate significantly the performance on the inflation criterion, as it would eliminate the proinflationary impact of an increase in these taxes in the years in which such evaluation will be made. in conclusion, i would like to sum up that, in the light of the rapid change in the structure of our economy, the stable macroeconomic policy pursued by the government and the bnb, and the prospects for eu membership, the concerns, expressed in the leaflet for this conference, of possible overheating of the economy and the risks this entails for its stability, seem rather exaggerated. the

of instant credit transfers in bgn. currently, we report that through the borika ad blink service practically 100 % of customer bank accounts in the country are accessible for instant payments in bgn, which are executed within 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. as i already said, in the coming year a number of challenges are expected on various fronts, but then again they provide opportunities for the sustainable development of the financial sector as a whole, with which the payment systems in the country will be integrated into the corresponding systems and infrastructures of the euro area. the mentioned projects are essential for the country's financial infrastructure, especially in terms of digitisation and cyber resilience processes, as they will become a foundation for further development of innovations in the sector. the realisation of the stated goals and the prevention of the analysed risks could not be possible without the joint efforts of the regulator and market participants through fruitful cooperation, smooth communication and strong motivation to achieve results. i wish you success in the new, challenging year 2024, as well as fruitful discussions in a spirit of partnership and cooperation. 4 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches