Declaration of the National Assembly on the Conclusions of the Copenhagen European Council

With 178 votes “for”, 3 – “against” and 2 abstentions the Bulgarian Parliament has adopted Declaration on the Conclusions of the European Council taken in Copenhagen on 13 December .
In the declaration the National Assembly confirms that EU full membership is an unconditional strategic priority of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The Bulgarian Parliament shares the Presidency Conclusions of the Copenhagen European Council taken on 13 December 2002.
The National Assembly welcomes the Member States’ resolve to commence in 2004 the Fifth Enlargement, of which Bulgaria is an inseparable part.
It highly appreciates the newly approved roadmap for Bulgaria as the basic framework for support of the preparation for EU membership and for maintenance of accelerated pace of accession.
The National Assembly considers the Member States’ will to welcome Bulgaria as the European Union member in 2007 as recognition of the important progress achieved by the country towards European integration.
It confirms Bulgaria’s will to fulfill the commitments undertaken in the accession negotiations and to carry on the hard work towards successful accession.
Finally, in the declaration the National Assembly expresses its support for the Bulgarian Government in its efforts to accelerate the preparation process with the purpose of concluding accession negotiations by the end of 2003.