(Bloomberg) -- Bulgaria is delaying its plan to join the pre-euro exchange rate mechanism to focus on fighting the coronavirus pandemic and the economic aftermath.

“This doesn’t mean that the work in this direction should stop,” central bank Governor Dimitar Radev told the private Nova TV channel on Monday. “A delay to 2021 won’t be fatal.”

After several setbacks, Bulgaria has sought to join both the ERM-2, known as the waiting room for the euro adoption, and the banking union by July. This deadline is now “unrealistic,” he said.

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