Bulgaria eyes switch to euro with dread

In Bilyana Nikolova's grocery store in Chuprene, a village in northwestern Bulgaria, prices are now displayed in levs and euros on hundreds of food products and other items.

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Still, the shopkeeper, 53, said she worries that in January when the euro is introduced in the Balkan nation it’s “going to be chaos”.

Nikolova said she has even considered closing for a few weeks “until things sort themselves out” as she has already had arguments with customers.

“People see the lower price in euros, get confused and think I’m lying to them,” said Nikolova, who has been running the shop for more than 20 years.

Chuprene, nestled at the foot of Bulgaria’s Stara Planina mountains near the Serbian border, is home to 400 people. But in small villages across Bulgaria concerns are running high that the euro will mean higher prices.