Economic and monetary union (EMU) implies the acceleration of an ongoing process of real convergence, whereby worker productivity, income and price levels tend to equalise across the euro area. Over the next 10?30 years, as real convergence takes place, trend inflation will be higher in poorer...

This article was invited from the author in response to the June 2022 Bruegel.com blog post by Zsolt Darvas – and see the separate article in this issue – about the decision to let Croatia into the euro area while keeping Bulgaria out; and intended to elicit a view from Bulgaria. The author...