The Bulgarian government has approved a draft law which will remove three zeros from the currency, the lev, from July 1st next year.

The Bulgarian finance minister, Muravei Radev, said the zeros were a result of the collapse of the economy and soaring inflation in 1996 and 1997.

The move will make the face value of the lev equal to the face value of the German mark, to which it has been pegged under a fixed exchange rate system since July of last year.

Current lev notes and coins will remain as legal tender until the end of next year and will be used in parallel with the new notes and coins.

In a separate development, European Union officials in Brussels say Bulgaria has made progress in fulfilling the criteria for EU membership.