Bulgaria joined EU
January 2nd, 2007
A pyramid of light was set to illuminate the sky above the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.
The top news is of course, that Bulgaria and Romania joined The European Union on New Year’s Day, helping to end geographic divisions left over from the Cold War and extending the borders of the now 27-member bloc eastward to the Black Sea.
Thousands of revelers gathered, Sunday night of 31st Dec last year, in the main square of Bulgaria’s national capital Sofia, at Battenberg Square, embracing and cheering when the clock struck midnight. EU flags fluttered overhead and fireworks lit up the sky. “We are home!” said a headline in a Bulgarian newspaper.
For Bulgaria, with a population of 7.7 million, and whose history is marked by conflicts with the Ottoman Empire and Soviet occupation, EU membership is also viewed as a source of economic and democratic stability. Bulgaria expects to receive as much as €661 million in the first year after entry.
Fireworks at the Varna city Nezavisimost Square.
