Bulgaria
Bulgaria occupies a portion of the eastern Balkan peninsula, bordering five countries—Greece and Turkey to the south, Macedonia and Serbia to the west, and Romania to the north. The land borders have a total length of , and the coastline has a length of . Its total area of ranks it as the world's 105th-largest country. Bulgaria's geographic coordinates are 43° N 25° E. The most notable topographical features are the Danubian Plain, the Balkan Mountains, the Thracian Plain, and the Rhodope Mountains. The southern edge of the Danubian Plain slopes upward into the foothills of the Balkans, while the Danube defines the border with Romania. The Thracian Plain is roughly triangular, beginning southeast of Sofia and broadening as it reaches the Black Sea coast.
Member state of the European Union
The EU has prioritised membership for the rest of the Western Balkans; Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey are all formally acknowledged as candidates. while Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are potential candidates. Turkish membership, pending since the 1980s, is a more contentious issue. Aside from the Cyprus dispute being a long-standing hurdle, relations between the EU and Turkey are strained after several incidents, mostly concerning the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, the Turkish referendum, and the resulting 2016–17 purges in Turkey. This has led to the European Parliament calling for a suspension of membership talks.