analyses on this subject, but concrete actions. how prepared is the bnb to join the euro area? the bnb is in a unique situation. it is the first, and until now the only, bulgarian institution which, since 1 october 2020, has been a full member of a key institution of the euro area, as is the eu's banking union with its two operating mechanisms : the single supervisory mechanism and the single resolution mechanism. therefore, the bnb is the institution which, not based on theoretical analyses but from first - hand experience, can tell the difference between being outside and being inside the euro area, i. e. we are speaking not about anticipated but about real implications. most recently, it's been two years since bulgaria became a full member, and our assessments are unequivocally positive. now we have information and a database which would have been inaccessible to us before our membership, even if we had invested huge resources. we participate in the process of making the most important decisions regarding the banking sector in the euro area, i. e. not only the bulgarian banks but the european banks. in making all these decisions, our vote matters as much 2 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches as the vote of germany, france, italy, spain, or any one of the other euro area member states. so, instead of waiting for the relevant decisions to be sent to us for implementation, we actively take part in the process of making these decisions. i must assure you that there is a big difference. financial implications are another important aspect of our membership. you can probably recall some observers'concerns as to how our membership in the banking union would burden the bulgarian banks with unbearable fees. indeed, the bulgarian banks pay fees related to banking union membership, but the financial benefits are considerably greater. the single resolution mechanism alone saves the bulgarian banks not less than bgn 160 million a year which, in turn, improves their financial result. or, if we use the terminology of insurance, the bulgarian banks get a much greater protection for a much lower premium. as regards the bnb which, as i said, is already a part of the euro area in terms of its key activities, at this stage the preparedness for full accession is related most of all with technical and logistic issues. organisation has been set up for monthly reporting on the progress and the outstanding challenges. so far six such reports have been drawn up and submitted to the coordination council for preparation of the

republic of bulgaria for euro area membership, headed by the finance minister and me. each of the bnb deputy governors is in charge of the relevant area of activity within the bnb's mandate. contact groups have been formed, with individually named members of the bnb and of the european central bank working on specific matters. the absence of a regular government and a clear political commitment to the euro area accession process are a serious obstacle to its progress. this is the reason why we are missing, one by one, important indicative time - frames. this time last year croatia was well ahead on its way to the euro area. i will give you only one example. on 10 september 2021 the european commission and the euro area member states signed a memorandum of understanding with croatia on the production of national euro coins. this memorandum sets out the actions required for a future euro area member state to begin producing euro coins. the signing of the memorandum makes it possible to detail the schedule for the future euro coins of the country, allowing that country to start selecting its euro coin national side designs and to carry out the technical preparations for minting and producing a test series of national euro coins. the memorandum is a precondition for that country to receive the technical specifications documentation needed for production of national euro coins. we are about a month and a half behind schedule only on this issue. the consultations that the minister of finance and i had last week show that the signing of such a memorandum is still possible but this will urgently require at least two things : firm political support and a clear mandate of the central bank governor. the political decision on this issue comes with a price. over the last months, and especially the last weeks, markets have been giving us very clear and warning signals. the price of bulgaria's newly issued debt has been rising at an unprecedentedly high rate. this implies an enormous additional financial weight in the medium term, which 3 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches more acutely than before poses the question about the terms of funding bulgaria's budget and economy. what is the connection with the topic under discussion? the connection is direct. if you read credit rating agencies'announcements, you will see that the key factor for bulgaria to get a rating upgrade, i. e. for improved terms of its funding, is the successful implementation of the euro area accession process. as a reference point, after the decision on croatia's accession was made, two credit rating agencies upgraded its credit rating by