Bulgaria's Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has confirmed in Germany that the country will apply this year to join the exchange-rate mechanism, the two-year currency stability test prior to euro adoption.

The meeting with his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble was part of a trip of Bulgaria's finance minister to member states of the eurozone.

The German minister was briefed on the parameters of Bulgaria's convergence program until 2012, which outlines the preparations for joining the ERM II mechanism and the adoption of the euro.

Wolfgang Schaeuble congratulated his Bulgarian counterpart on the achievements that it made in its fiscal policy.

Last month German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed objectivity in its support for Bulgaria's application to join the exchange-rate mechanism, saying that her country will justly assess the measures it takes for meeting the criteria for fiscal discipline.

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.

There have been months of speculation over when the former communist state would formally apply to the bloc's exchange-rate mechanism – a currency stability test for euro hopefuls.

Bulgaria initially planned to apply to join the exchange-rate mechanism in November, but delayed it for the beginning of 2010 after all member states submit their convergence programs, which contains the mid-term goals of the fiscal policy.

Bulgaria's Finance Minister Simeon Djankov, a World Bank economist, hopes to offset a possible reluctance to admit Bulgaria into the ERM, stemming from the global crisis, by garnishing the application with a targeted balanced 2010 budget, the smallest 2009 deficit in the EU and laws overhauling the inefficient health-care and social-security systems.

Joining the exchange-rate mechanism would bring Bulgaria closer to the umbrella of the euro region and the protection of the European Central Bank and is conditional on whether the new government will succeed to restore Brussels trust.

The lev is already linked to the euro in a currency board that keeps the Bulgarian currency at 1.9558 to the euro. Joining the exchange-rate mechanism may allow the lev to fluctuate by as much as 15 % around a central band, though the central bank has said it will leave the lev tightly pegged to the euro through the duration of the two years.

what planet is the finance minister from.(lol)