ABSTRACT

Part I examined the evolution of the EC's Association strategy in Eastern Europe since 1990 (chapter 2) and continued with the negotiation of the first wave of Europe agreements between the EC and the Visegrad countries in 1991 (chapters 2 and 3). It was argued that throughout this period the EC's main actors displayed considerable unity over the basic principles of the Association strategy, while internal disagreements concentrated almost exclusively upon sectoral rather than substantive policy choices. As a result of such widespread consensus, it was also argued that political leadership (i.e. European Council and General Affairs Council) within the EC managed to maintain firm (and relatively unchallenged) control over the Association process, including devising the general principles of the EAs as well as selecting the Association applicants. The normalisation and strengthening of bilateral relations with the EC member states was, therefore, a necessary pre-requisite for all CEECs aspiring to Association with the EC. For Bulgaria and Romania, the process of normalising bilateral relations with the EC's member states began soon after the collapse of the Zhivkov and Ceausescu regimes in late 1989, but their efforts in this direction clearly intensified following their official request to start Association negotiations in March 1991.1

This chapter examines the evolution of such bilateral relations throughout what can be called the pre-negotiation phase, that is the period starting with the Bulgarian and Romanian requests for Association negotiations in March 1991 and ending with the actual opening of the negotiations with the two countries in May 1992.