From its inception, the European Union (hereinafter EU or the Union) has been dedicated to the broad concept of gender equality. ... To gain EU membership, each candidate country must meet the three basic Copenhagen Guidelines: ... Thus, the two-sided EU requirement of legislation and implementation/enforcement of that legislation forces candidate countries like Bulgaria to deal with the legal, social, and political components of the gender equality issue by adopting a more complete version of the acquis communautaire. ... Often, emerging democracies like Bulgaria push themselves to enact gender equality legislation before they are truly ready because they desire to be included in the progressive "European" world and to distance themselves from the memory of Communism. ... Currently, Bulgaria is working on a new National Plan for Gender Equality to align with its EU accession commitments. ... Looking at the ultimate goals of the EU acquis communautaire and Bulgaria's attempts to conform, it seems ironic that EU laws and initiatives aim to fulfill goals of gender equality that may have been present in Bulgaria to a great extent during Communism. ...