WITH the approach of April 25, the day of the signing of Bulgaria's accession treaty with the European Union, the country readied itself for national celebrations.
The prospect of festivities to mark the official signing meant a change of mood after the tense drama that surrounded the European Parliament vote on April 13 on whether to give the go-ahead for the signing of accession treaties with Bulgaria and Romania. MEPs gave their approval by an absolute majority, keeping the two countries on track to join the EU in January 2007.
It was decided that, on behalf of Bulgaria, the treaty would be signed both by President Georgi Purvanov and Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg.
Reports of plans for festivities said that the Education Ministry would give school pupils the day off on April 25, so that they may celebrate the happy occasion.
In the town of Shoumen, the municipality is to fire a cherry cannon (such cannons were used by Bulgarians during the 1876 April uprising against Ottoman rule) and a salvo of 200 blank cartridges. More than 600 blue balloons with golden stars, and hundreds of doves, are to be released into the sky.
In Pazardjik, two huge balloons are to be released to the accompaniment of the Ode to Joy, the EU anthem.
At the moment of the signing of the treaty, the Tsarevets fortress in one of Bulgaria's former capitals, Veliko Turnovo, will be lit in blue and gold.
Plovdiv will celebrate the happy occasion with a special live video link with Luxembourg and the chief negotiator.
Finance Minister Milen Velchev, under whose patronage the Plovdiv celebrations are being held, and who heads the National Movement Simeon II election candidate list in the city, will be in Plovdiv for the occasion.
Youth and Sports Minister Vassil Ivanov is planning to stage a large-scale sports festival at the Vassil Levski national stadium in Sofia.
In Rousse, at the Danube bridge border checkpoint between Bulgaria and Romania, children from both countries will symbolically tear open a barrier of flowers.
Meanwhile, on behalf of his fellow students, Alexander Alexandrov, a student at the history and law department of the Neofit Rilski Southwestern University in Blagoevgrad, presented Saxe-Coburg with a pen with which to sign the treaty.
Alexandrov handed over the pen during an international students' roundtable on Bulgaria and the EU, organised by the university and attended by Saxe-Coburg during a visit to the city on April 20.
Bulgarian National Bank will mark the occasion of the signing of the treaty by issuing a silver commemorative coin with a partial gold finish, marked "Bulgaria-European Union".
The nominal value of the coin is 1.95583 leva, the exact equivalent of one euro according to the fixed exchange rate under the currency board arrangement.
The obverse of the coin features the BNB logo with the year "1879" inscribed on the ribbon.
The issue date, 2005, and the nominal value will appear below, and the writing around the circumference says "Bulgarian National Bank."
The reverse of the coin has a fragment of a fresco from the famous Thracian tomb in Kazanluk at the centre, with 12 stars around the circumference and the lettering "EU" and "Bulgaria" separated by a rose.