site.btaFebruary 15, 2000: Official Start of Bulgaria's EU Accession Negotiations

On February 15, 2000, the European Union officially began membership negotiations with Bulgaria. The start was given at the first sitting of the Intergovernmental Conference in Brussels. 

On that date, accession negotiations were launched also with Romania, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Malta.

The decision to open accession negotiations was taken at a meeting of EU heads of state and government in Helsinki on December 10 and 11, 1999.

Bulgaria's accession to the European Union was approved by the European Parliament on April 13, 2005. The Treaty of Accession was signed on April 25, 2005, and was ratified by the National Assembly on May 11, 2005. Its entry into force on January 1, 2007 marked Bulgaria's entry in the EU.