The European Central Bank (ECB) may have to take further action on inflation at its December meeting if the outlook does not improve markedly, Slovenia's central bank governor and ECB Governing Council member Primož Dolenc told BTA.
The bank has made no advance commitment to any specific decision, he said. He spoke to BTA as official monetary and financial institutions held a forum today at the Boyana Residence in Sofia.
At its meeting on 29 October, the ECB left its three key interest rates unchanged: 2.50% on the deposit facility, 2.65% on main refinancing operations and 2.90% on the marginal lending facility. It warned that rising energy prices raise the risk of higher inflation and weaker growth.
Dolenc said the ECB's main goal remains price stability, meaning inflation of 2% over the medium term. The bank's September forecasts show inflation staying high for a long time. Unresolved geopolitical conflicts keep alive the risk that prices will rise.
Dolenc's main fear is that dearer energy will slowly feed into food prices, then into other goods and services, and finally into wages.
Wages are another source of pressure. If wages and unit labour costs, which show what labour costs per unit of goods produced, rise fast, that can push prices up from within.
Weaker spending, lower investment and less borrowing could hold inflation down, Dolenc said. He said people and firms should expect prices in line with the goal of price stability.
Decisions will depend on incoming data and will be taken meeting by meeting, the governor said. There is no ready-made answer to an energy shock that fits every case. The ECB's response depends on how big and how long the shock is, and how it affects prices and the economy.
Bulgaria's first months in the eurozone are encouraging, Dolenc said. The country has used the euro since 1 January 2026.
Changing currency naturally worries people and businesses, he admitted. So far the data point to a smooth switch, similar to earlier eurozone enlargements.
Dolenc cited an analysis by ECB experts from the spring, which reached three conclusions on Bulgaria. The first is that the euro had a limited and largely one-off effect on consumer prices. Some of those price changes happened before the euro was introduced.
The second is that the currency change as a whole did not affect how people feel about inflation or what they expect on price rises. The third is that support for the euro in Bulgaria is above 50%, because initial fears of higher prices are fading. These trends match the experience of countries that joined earlier, Dolenc said.
The benefits come gradually, he said. They include deeper involvement in the single market, lower transaction costs, an end to currency risk, clearer prices and greater investor confidence.
"Adopting the euro should not be seen as the end of a process, but as the start of a new stage of economic integration," Dolenc said.
He gave Slovenia as an example. As a small, open economy, it has gained a lot from belonging to a large and stable monetary union. He said Bulgaria is well placed to do the same.
The second lesson from Slovenia is that clear explanations to people are decisive, because fears about the euro often turn out not to be fully justified. To keep public trust, he said, the country needs open information, effective consumer protection and close cooperation between institutions, business and consumer groups. The rise in support for the euro in Bulgaria shows the process is well advanced, the governor said.
Dolenc did not name a favourite to be the next country to join the eurozone after Bulgaria. He said the next enlargement depends more on political will and public support than on meeting the technical convergence criteria.
Enlargement is a complex issue with many sides, and in the end the decision is political and sovereign, guided by the Maastricht criteria and the legal and institutional framework, he said. In several EU countries outside the eurozone, public support is not strong enough now. That could change, especially in a major crisis.
Three conditions remain mandatory for joining successfully: lasting compliance with the economic criteria, structural reforms and institutions that are ready.
The planned offline payments are designed with a high level of privacy, so the information stays between payer and recipient, Dolenc explained. For online payments, data protection must be balanced with rules against money laundering and terrorism financing.
Artificial intelligence offers big opportunities for higher productivity and better banking services, but it also brings new operational and systemic risks. Dolenc said the biggest challenge for regulators is to bring under control the risks of wide and interlinked use of AI before they threaten the stability of the financial system.