Bulgaria became a member of the European Union (EU) in 2007 after many efforts to fulfill the Copenhagen criteria and progress as a democracy with a free market economy since the fall of communism in 1989. Even after being part of the EU for 18 years, Bulgaria remains one of the poorest member states.[1] However, according to the latest research done on Bulgarians’ opinion on their country’s EU Membership, they express positive attitudes, which shows that they see themselves as part of a unified Europe.[2] Although having those results we cannot still evaluate at what level Bulgaria has integrated itself into the Union. That should be done based on the competent EU institutions’ tools for measuring the country’s compliance with EU policy and overcoming integration challenges.
One of the most valuable assessments is the Commission`s Rule of Law Report, conducted after Bulgaria fulfilled all of the requirements under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) in 2023 by decision of the Commission. The CVM was created in 2006 in order to facilitate judicial reform, anti-corruption measures and to counter organized crime after the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU in 2007.[3] Through the CVM the Commission gave recommendations based on annual monitoring reports, created in cooperation with the Member States[4], and at the same time provided funding under the European Structural and Investment Funds. The Rule of Law Report evaluates the country`s justice system, anti-corruption framework, media pluralism and freedom, and institutional issues related to checks and balances. The 2024 one points out that Bulgaria has made progress in adopting and implementing most of the previous year`s recommendations, with no progress in the areas of the effectiveness of investigation and prosecution, insufficient safeguards for the independence of media regulator, media ownership disclosure obligations and clear integrity standards for government. One example of action endangering civil society organizations is the draft Law for the Registration of Foreign Agents, due to its lack of specification and concrete definitions, which may lead to wrong interpretation and too restrictive requirements which will make receiving foreign funding harder for CSOs and may lead to the closure of dependent ones.[5] Examples of similar policies and the outlined effects can be seen in: Russia and its 2012 law on the activity of non-commercial organizations; Georgia`s 2024 law requiring the CSOs receiving a certain amount their funding from outer source to register as “serving interests of a foreign power“, which in result halted its accession to the EU[6]; the repealed Hungarian NGO Transparency Law passed in 2017 and the Law on the Protection of National Sovereignty passed in 2023[7]; Slovakia`s laws regulating the CSOs` lobbying activities with recent amendments initiated in 2024[8]. Attention to those laws has been brought before organizations such as UN Human Rights Committee, the ECtHR, OSCE, and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.
Another pressing topic is the country`s adoption of the euro as official currency, to which the Bulgarian Lev has been pegged since 1999. The country was expected to join the eurozone in January 2025, but that was postponed due to the persisting political crisis, lack of a working government, and inflation. What seems to make Bulgaria more hesitant is the rising Eurosceptic moods in the society, for example, the recent violent protests organized by the nationalist Revival party, that tried to storm the building of the European Union in Sofia.[9] Nevertheless, the country still awaits the European Central Bank`s report on the readiness of Bulgaria to join the Eurozone either before the summer of 2025 or at the beginning of 2026.[10]
Another step to integration is to be a member of the Schengen Area, which in the case of Bulgaria is fact as of 2025 in result of the Council`s decision. That was possible because the country fulfilled the required conditions due to its ability to ensure application of Schengen rules: capability and measures taken to deal with migration and cross-border crime, ensure protection of fundamental rights and data, security at the external borders, strategic governance, using large-scale IT systems enacting the Schengen acquis.[11] Bulgaria cooperated with Frontex and deployed Standing Corps officers at the Turkish and Serbian borders. Police cooperation was also initiated together with Austria, Greece, Hungary and Slovakia. For comparison Croatia, which joined the EU after Bulgaria in 2013, is part of the Schengen Area since 2023.[12] That is due to its geographical locations and the lack of direct borders with non-EU countries through which large amount of migrants first pass, and cross-border crime is conducted, which is present in the cases of Bulgaria and Romania, and those factors do not inspire confidence in other Member States and the capabilities of both to deal with such problems.
As evaluated by the Rule of Law Report, Bulgaria still has areas in which it could improve- the effectiveness of investigation and prosecution and media freedom, as pointed out in the example of the draft Law for the Registration of Foreign Agents. The country continues to include itself further into the EU through the accession to the Schengen Area, which contributed to further cooperation with other Member States and strengthening relations with them and the Union overall, but also the soon expected adoption of the euro. As seen in the topics of Schengen and the Eurozone, but also in the Rule of Law Report, one of the main obstacles to Bulgaria is its slower development and structural issues regarding the EU`s requirements, political instability, rising Euroscepticism, and security in relation to borders and migration. Nevertheless, the conclusion drawn from some of the article’s findings that Bulgaria is adopting and implementing most of the Commission`s recommendations and fulfilling the conditions on being part of the Schengen Area, indicates that the country is moving in the direction of further integration in the EU.
References
- Carlson, Kathryn. (2024). Bulgaria can’t join the eurozone in January. Here’s why. POLITICO. https://www.politico.eu/article/bulgaria-eurozone-january-2025-currency-target/.
- (2022). Croatia to join Schengen but Bulgaria, Romania bids rejected. https://www.dw.com/en/croatia-to-join-schengen-but-bulgaria-romania-bids-rejected/a-64028685.
- European Center for Not-for-Profit Law Stichting. (2025). Slovakia: Corporations Unregulated While Active Citizens Labelled As Lobbyists. https://ecnl.org/news/slovakia-corporations-unregulated-while-active-citizens-labelled-lobbyists.
- European Commission (2024), 2024 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Bulgaria. https://commission.europa.eu/publications/2024-rule-law-report-communication-and-country-chapters_en.
- European Commission. (2019). Cooperation and Verification Mechanism Reports on Bulgaria and Romania. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_19_6137.
- European Commission. (2023). Rule of Law: Commission formally closes the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism for Bulgaria and Romania. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_4456.
- European Commission. (2024). COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS State of Schengen. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52024DC0173#document2
- (2025). Real GDP per capita. https://doi.org/10.2908/SDG_08_10 .
- Kirova, Iskra. (2024). Foreign Agents Laws in the Authoritarian Playbook. New Eastern Europe. https://neweasterneurope.eu/2024/09/17/foreign-agent-laws-in-the-authoritarian-playbook/.
- Megrelidze, S., & Cook, L. (2024). EU halts Georgia’s accession to the bloc, freezes financial aid over much-criticized law. https://apnews.com/article/georgia-eu-membership-foreign-agents-law-b812e27d5ddba6e03d8859652b8fc986.
- Nenov, Stoyan. (2025). Bulgaria’s anti-euro protesters try to storm EU mission building. Reuters.https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/bulgarias-anti-euro-protesters-try-storm-eu-mission-building-2025-02-22/.
- Yordanov, Metodi. Alpha Research. Growth of Support for Bulgaria`s EU Membership Registered by Opinion Poll. BTA. https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/846957-growth-of-support-for-bulgaria-s-eu-membership-registered-by-opinion-poll.
[1] Eurostat. (2025). Real GDP per capita. https://doi.org/10.2908/SDG_08_10
[2] Yordanov, Metodi. Alpha Research. Growth of Support for Bulgaria`s EU Membership Registered by Opinion Poll. BTA. https://www.bta.bg/en/news/bulgaria/846957-growth-of-support-for-bulgaria-s-eu-membership-registered-by-opinion-poll
[3] European Commission. (2023). Rule of Law: Commission formally closes the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism for Bulgaria and Romania. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_4456
[4] European Commission. (2019). Cooperation and Verification Mechanism Reports on Bulgaria and Romania. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_19_6137
[5]European Commission (2024), 2024 Rule of Law Report, Country Chapter on the rule of law situation in Bulgaria. https://commission.europa.eu/publications/2024-rule-law-report-communication-and-country-chapters_en
[6] Megrelidze, S., & Cook, L. (2024). EU halts Georgia’s accession to the bloc, freezes financial aid over much-criticized law. https://apnews.com/article/georgia-eu-membership-foreign-agents-law-b812e27d5ddba6e03d8859652b8fc986
[7] Kirova, Iskra. (2024). Foreign Agents Laws in the Authoritarian Playbook. New Eastern Europe. https://neweasterneurope.eu/2024/09/17/foreign-agent-laws-in-the-authoritarian-playbook/
[8] European Center for Not-for-Profit Law Stichting. (2025). Slovakia: Corporations Unregulated While Active Citizens Labelled As Lobbyists. https://ecnl.org/news/slovakia-corporations-unregulated-while-active-citizens-labelled-lobbyists
[9] Nenov, Stoyan. (2025). Bulgaria’s anti-euro protesters try to storm EU mission building. Reuters.https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/bulgarias-anti-euro-protesters-try-storm-eu-mission-building-2025-02-22/
[10] Carlson, Kathryn. (2024). Bulgaria can’t join the eurozone in January. Here’s why. POLITICO. https://www.politico.eu/article/bulgaria-eurozone-january-2025-currency-target/
[11] European Commission. (2024). COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS State of Schengen. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52024DC0173#document2
[12] DW. (2022). Croatia to join Schengen but Bulgaria, Romania bids rejected. https://www.dw.com/en/croatia-to-join-schengen-but-bulgaria-romania-bids-rejected/a-64028685
