What’s the future for monetary unions?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 26 May 2026
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
At the beginning of this year Bulgaria, considered as one of the poorest countries in the European Union, became the latest to officially join the eurozone. Bulgaria’s legal tender since 1881 had been the lev, but since the mid-1990s it had been pegged to other European currencies, first to the German deutschmark and now to the euro. But it remains to be seen if the country’s economic policy can take advantage of the opportunities that joining the single currency can afford, in terms of trade and economic development.
Monetary unions are not a new concept, some like the Scandinavian monetary union date back to the 19th Century, involving Denmark, Sweden and Norway. It established a fixed exchange rate system based on the gold standard, whilst member countries still had their own currencies before it was gradually dissolved from the outbreak of World War One onwards.
Today, the biggest monetary union is the eurozone, used by around 358 million people across 21 European Union countries. It has one monetary authority for all the members and a standardised currency and coinage.
And now the Economic Community of West African States, known as ECOWAS is actively planning a monetary union with a common currency called the eco and pegged to the euro. The ambition is for greater economic sovereignty and regional economic integration.
But with the US dollar as the world’s dominant global reserve currency, even though it’s not part of a global monetary union, is there an argument for one currency across all borders and if so, what should it be?
So, on The Inquiry this week we’re asking, ‘What’s the future for monetary unions?’
Contributors: Assoc Prof Ralitsa Simeonova-Ganeva, Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski, Bulgaria Prof Barry Eichengreen, University of California, Berkeley, USA Prof Mohamed Ben Omar Ndiaye, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Senegal Dr Judy Shelton, Senior Fellow, The Independent Institute, California, USA
Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producers: Daniel Rosney and Jill Collins Researcher: Evie Yabsley Editor: Tom Bigwood Technical producer: Toby James Production management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam Morrey
(Photo: Euro and US dollar banknotes. Credit: BBC/Corbis Royalty Free)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.7 | Welcome to the inquiry from the BBC World Service. I'm Charmaine Cozier. |
| 0:10.5 | Each week, one question, four expert witnesses and an answer. |
| 0:18.9 | 1881, Bulgaria. A brand new currency goes into circulation in the southeastern European country. |
| 0:26.6 | It's called the Lev, from an old Bulgarian word for lion, a national symbol of strength and independence. |
| 0:33.6 | The Lev prevailed through the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 and two world wars that followed. |
| 0:41.6 | In the 1990s, a severe financial crisis saw the currency devalue and inflation saw. |
| 0:48.1 | It survived that too. Now more than 140 years after it was first minted, Bulgaria has left the Lev behind. |
| 0:56.6 | In January this year, it became the 21st member of a group of European Union countries |
| 1:01.6 | with the euro is the official currency. |
| 1:05.1 | Those states also have a monetary policy and central bank in common. |
| 1:09.7 | West African countries have had similar plans for a while. |
| 1:13.1 | So this week we're asking, |
| 1:14.7 | what's the future for monetary unions? |
| 1:20.3 | Part 1. Change. |
| 1:34.5 | Joining the Monetary Union Bulgaria is full financial integration and completion of a long-term process. |
| 1:41.5 | Rilitzer Garniver is an associate professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration |
| 1:46.9 | at Sofia University, St. Clement Oritzky, in Bulgaria. |
| 1:51.4 | The long journey towards monetary union membership started years before Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007. |
| 1:59.4 | It had a severe financial crisis between 1996 and 1997. |
| 2:06.1 | At one point, the monthly inflation rate reached 242%. And just to give you a sense of what it is like |
| 2:13.8 | to live in Bulgaria in the mid-1990s, I would say that the standard of living declined so much |
... |
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