In Bulgaria, we often hear the claim that joining the European Union means giving up national sovereignty. This idea comes up in conversations about laws, the euro, borders, or “Brussels deciding everything.” It can feel true when EU rules affect everyday topics, and when decisions seem far away from local communities.
As a young person in Bulgaria, I wanted to understand what sovereignty actually means today—and whether EU membership really takes it away, or if something more complex is happening.
We fact-checked this claim because it strongly influences how people see the EU and Bulgaria’s place in it. It is often repeated as a simple statement, without explaining how decisions are made or why countries join in the first place. We wanted to separate fear-based messages from legal and political reality.
The claim that the EU forces member states to give up national sovereignty is misleading. EU membership is voluntary, and countries choose to share certain powers in specific areas because they believe cooperation brings benefits. Bulgaria agreed to these rules when it joined the EU in 2007, through democratic processes.
It is true that EU member states share sovereignty in some areas, such as trade policy, competition rules, and parts of environmental and consumer protection. This means countries agree to common rules instead of acting alone. However, this is not the same as losing sovereignty completely. Bulgaria still controls key areas like education, culture, healthcare, taxation, social policy, and national elections.
Importantly, Bulgaria also helps shape EU decisions. Bulgarian representatives sit in the European Council, the Council of the EU, the European Parliament, and the European Commission. EU laws are not imposed by an external power; they are negotiated and adopted by member states together.
Modern sovereignty is not just about acting alone—it’s also about having influence. By being part of the EU, Bulgaria gains a voice in decisions that affect the whole continent, rather than having to accept them from outside.
We learned that sovereignty today is not all-or-nothing. This fact-check helped us understand the difference between sharing power and losing power. The EU limits some national choices, but it also expands what countries can achieve together. Seeing sovereignty as cooperation, not control, helped us move past simple slogans.
Sources:
- European Union. (2023). How the EU works. https://european-union.europa.eu
- European Parliament. (2023). Powers and competences of the EU. https://www.europarl.europa.eu
- European Commission. (2024). EU competences. https://commission.europa.eu
- Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (2022). Bulgaria in the European Union. https://www.mfa.bg
- Schmidt, V. A. (2019). Europe’s crisis of legitimacy: Governing by rules and ruling by numbers. Oxford University Press.
