Bulgaria: European Union Membership and Democratic (Un-)Accountability
Bulgaria: European Union Membership and Democratic (Un-)Accountability

Summary/Abstract: Abstract. This article is based on the Bulgarian country report of the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) 2010. Generally, we follow the structure of the BTI country report. Thus, we focus on the domains of democracy, the functioning of the market economy and the management of the state. In some cases, however, we have merged together or omitted less important sections of these domains. Our main conclusion is that the pace at which Bulgaria is catching up with the EU standards in all domains – the functioning of democratic institutions, the market, social safety nets and overall governance – has slowed down in spite of the country’s accession to the EU in 01 January 2007. While we present the evidence of this slow-down as seen through the lens of the standard BTI indicators, we have also tried to explain why this slow-down has occurred.

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