site.btaDecember 10, 1999: Bulgaria Invited to Start EU Accession Talks

On December 10, 1999, the EU invited Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Slovakia to start accession talks. The formal accession negotiations began on February 15, 2000.

BTA reported:

Parliament Chairman Tells MPs of Bulgaria's Invitation to Start Accession Talks

Sofia, December 10, 1999 (BTA) - At 12.55 pm, National Assembly Chairman Yordan Sokolov announced in plenary that the European Union had decided to invite Bulgaria to start accession negotiations. The MPs gave the news a standing ovation.

***

Bulgarian PM: Accession Talks Could End by 2006

Helsinki, December 10, 1999 (BTA special correspondent Petko Azmanov) -  In the best case scenario, Sofia's EU accession negotiations could be completed by 2006, Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov told a news conference in Helsinki. (...) Kostov said that Bulgaria's strongest advantage is the accelerated alignment of its legislation to the European acquis.

Regarding the duration of the negotiations, the Bulgarian Prime Minister said the European Commission is in favour of a slower pace of the talks because it believes that Bulgaria will find it difficult to meet the Copenhagen criteria in the medium term, above all those related to competitiveness. Kostov highlighted a number of domestic and foreign policy advantages Bulgaria will gain from the start of the negotiations: the talks mean an irreversible commitment to upholding the European values - human rights and freedoms, democracy, a socially oriented market economy, and minority rights. The negotiations will guarantee economic and social stability, create conditions for economic growth, and help attract foreign investments. The launch of negotiations will push up the price of land, property and capital in Bulgaria, Kostov also said. The laws regulating public relations will be aligned with those in the EU, a modern and efficient central and local administration will be created to serve citizens and companies, and a modern education and healthcare system will be built.

Bulgaria joined the EU on January 1, 2007.