April 25 links the founding of Bulgaria\u2019s armed forces with the signing of the treaty that brought the country into the European Union.<\/p>\n
On April 25, 1878, Prince Alexander Dondukov-Korsakov approved the Provisional Rules for the Bulgarian Land Troops. The act marks the establishment of the Bulgarian Armed Forces after liberation. Building an army was one of the urgent tasks of the restored state, because sovereignty required defence, organization, command, training, and discipline. The new forces drew on volunteers, wartime experience, and the need to create institutions almost from nothing. Over time, the army became central to Bulgarian statehood, politics, wars, ceremonies, and national memory. April 25 therefore marks the beginning of a military institution that would shape Bulgaria\u2019s modern history in both heroic and difficult ways.<\/p>\n
On April 25, 2005, Bulgaria\u2019s Treaty of Accession to the European Union was signed in Luxembourg. The signing was the formal culmination of years of negotiations, reforms, monitoring, and political effort after the country applied for EU membership. It did not make Bulgaria a member immediately; accession took effect on January 1, 2007. Still, the treaty confirmed that the path had been agreed. For Bulgaria, EU membership meant a new legal, economic, and political framework, as well as access to wider European mobility and institutions. April 25 therefore marks one of the key milestones in the country\u2019s post-1989 return to Europe as a full institutional participant.<\/p>\n
Read about April 24<\/a> or continue with April 26<\/a>. For more stories, explore Bulgaria From Above<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On this day in Bulgarian history: the Bulgarian Armed Forces were established in 1878, and Bulgaria’s EU Accession Treaty was signed in 2005.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3342,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-on-this-day-in-bulgaria","latest_post"],"yoast_head":"\n