Bulgaria should wrap up three of its remaining four outstanding negotiating points for EU entry next week and may complete talks altogether before July, the country's most senior accession official said today.
The Balkan state has been largely crowded out of the enlargement spotlight by the 10 more advanced countries that joined the EU in its May 1st expansion.
Officially, the talks had been expected to end by the end of the year, though the Sofia government has said it was possible they could be completed in the summer.
By next week it expects to have closed all but one of the 30 "chapters", or negotiating points that ensure a candidate meets EU norms, European Affairs Minister Meglena Kuneva said in an interview.
"On June 4, we will hopefully close the chapters on Agriculture, Budget and Finance, and Regional Policy," Ms Kuneva said.
The last chapter, Competition, may be concluded by the time Ireland gives up the EU's rotating presidency at the end of June, though potential reservations from the EU may push the date back by several months, she added.
With talks out of the way, the EU's last monitoring report on Bulgaria in October should show the country is ready for membership in January 2007 as planned.