Development and Structure of the Bulgarian Export After the Country’s Accession to the EU

Nowadays the European Union includes 28 countries. The last country that has signed an accession treaty was Croatia in 2013. The previous enlargement of the Union was in 2007 when Bulgaria and Romania became members. The accession process for these two countries took some time and was related to quite a lot of changes in the economic practices of both countries. The present article reviews the changes that occur in the Bulgarian foreign economic practice, more particularly in the export activity after Bulgaria's accession to the European Union in 2007. The paper analyses the trends in the development, structure and geographical distribution of the country's export during the 10-year period of the country’s EU membership (2007-2016). The main reasons and factors for the main trends are outlined. On the basis of a detailed comparative analysis of the situation before and after the EU accession, the authors try to assess the impact of European integration on the Bulgarian export practices, highlighting both positive and negative results. The paper also elaborates specific recommendations for improvement of the competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy in the context of the country's export changes.