`Bulgaria has the ambition to open all 29 chapters of the acquis communautaire by the end of the year,` Meglena Kuneva, Deputy Foreign Minister and Chief Negotiator with the European Union (EU) announced on October 29. So far, Bulgaria has opened 23 chapters. Another three, Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments, Energy, and Financial and Budgetary Provisions, are to be opened by the end of the year according to a preliminary plan. ` Bulgaria has requested from the EU to open talks on the remaining three chapters: Agriculture, Economic and Monetary Union and Industrial Policy, by the end of 2001,` Kuneva added. `Bulgaria has already presented its position on these three chapters but the European Commission may not be ready for talks,` she added. `If in its annual report the European Commission says that Bulgaria has made progress towards a functioning market economy, this will be a very positive assessment, which will open a number of doors,` said Kouneva. According to her, the formula ten plus two for European Union accession has never been viable, Info Radio reported. Thus, the Romanian Bulgarian tandem is not to be considered for joining the European Union with the first group as it was speculated.

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