Georgy Parvanov in Luxembourg

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean Claude Juncker (L) greets Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov (R) prior to their meeting at Luxembourg State Ministry, 24 February 2010. Parvanov paid a one-day working visit to Luxembourg. Eurozone member states' woes may not end up foiling Bulgaria's aspirations to join the euro thanks to its budgetary rigor, according to Luxembourg's Prime Minister and Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker. “I am very optimistic about Bulgaria's prospect to join the bloc's exchange-rate mechanism ERM II, the so-called Eurozone waiting room,” Jean-Claude Juncker said after meeting with Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov. Juncker pointed out that the goal that the Bulgarian government has set itself is a good one, but the country must prove that its fiscal stability is long-term. The Eurogroup chairman said the problems of some eurozone members theoretically could impact the process of Bulgaria's euro adoption, but stressed that Bulgaria has managed to improve its economic results since 2007-2008, when it made its first attempt to join the ERM II. Bulgaria's accession to the eurozone is primarily a political issue, the country's president said earlier in the day in Brussels after conferring with Belgium's Prime Minister Yves Leterme. Georgi Parvanov and Leterme were unanimous that Bulgaria is making a considerable progress in the justice and internal affairs field, which, according to them, is the reason to hope that the interim report of the European Commission, due in March, will contain positive assessment. Earlier in the week European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek encouraged Bulgaria, saying that 2013 is a realistic deadline for it to become member of the eurozone. According to Buzek the economic crisis and its impact will not foil Bulgaria's plans for joining the eurozone as scheduled. The Greek crisis has triggered fears about the stability of the eurozone and concerns that it may end up foiling Bulgaria's aspirations to join the euro in three years, despite the country's budgetary rigor. Bulgaria is believed to be among the countries most at risk from potential spillovers from Greece after banks invested in central and eastern Europe. The country is more susceptible to contagion risk from than neighboring Romania or Turkey, because Greek banks control 28 percent of the Balkan country’s market. After months of speculation over when the former communist state would formally apply to the bloc's exchange-rate mechanism, the so-called Eurozone waiting room, the finance minister has set the deadline at the end of June, when the Spanish Presidency of the European Union ends. Countries must be members of ERM II for two years before they can formally join the eurozone. Bulgaria believes that it could be ready for euro entry by 2013. Bulgaria, which joined the EU in 2007, posted the smallest budget deficit among the 27 member states last year, according to the finance ministry. It is expected to be the only EU nation to balance its budget in 2010.