News - Belgium, Brussels, Permanent Representation of the Republic of Bulgaria

Today marked an important milestone in the European Union’s enlargement process, with the holding of four Intergovernmental Conferences with Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, and Albania. Bulgaria was represented by the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union, Ambassador Rumen Alexandrov.

The series of conferences began with the Third Intergovernmental Conference with Ukraine, during which Cluster 6 “External Relations” was opened for negotiation, covering the EU’s trade policy and the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union.

Later in the day, the Twenty-Eighth Intergovernmental Accession Conference with Montenegro was held. During the session, negotiations on Chapter 8 “Competition Policy” and Chapter 29 “Customs Union” were closed, bringing the total number of closed negotiating chapters to 18.

This was followed by the Third Intergovernmental Conference with the Republic of Moldova, at which Cluster 6 “External Relations” was opened for negotiation, encompassing EU policies in the areas of trade, foreign policy, security, and defense.

The day concluded with the Ninth Intergovernmental Accession Conference with Albania. At this conference, the country closed the first negotiating chapters in its negotiation process: Chapter 25 “Science and Research,” Chapter 26 “Education and Culture,” and Chapter 30 “External Relations.”