ABSTRACT
In recent years academic scholarship within European Union (EU) studies has shifted attention to the impact of European integration on the former communist countries. This is hardly surprising given the profound changes in almost every aspect of economic, social and political life which have followed in the wake of accession-related commitments and accession itself. However, as yet, these studies have largely been confined to the first wave of applicants from East Central Europe and the case of the South-East European countries remains largely unexplored. In this chapter, therefore, I shall seek to open up this debate through an empirical study of how and why actors in South-East Europe incorporate ‘Europe’ into domestic political institutions and practices. More specifically, using Bulgaria as a case study, I examine parliamentary involvement in EU matters during the accession process.
