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Bulgaria–Greece relations refer to bilateral relations between Greece and Bulgaria. Due to the strong political, cultural and religious ties between the two nations, (the majority of Bulgarians and Greeks practice the Eastern Orthodox faith), Greece and Bulgaria today enjoy excellent diplomatic relations〔 and consider each other a friendly nation. Both countries are members of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Union, and NATO, with Greece being a strong supporter of Bulgaria's Euro-Atlantic integration and entry to the Schengen Area. Bulgaria and Greece share common political views about the Balkans, the enlargement plans of the European Union and the rest of the world, with the first being a supporter of the latter's stance on the Macedonia Naming Dispute. Modern relations between the two countries were established in 1908 and are regarded as excellent despite occupation of Greece along with Germany and Italy during World War II. == History == The common heritage of both nations played a significant role in the close relations between the two countries, ever since the Medieval Ages, between Southern Slavs and Byzantine Greeks (the Byzantine Empire played a prominent role in spreading of the Orthodox Christianity to Bulgaria and the rest of the Balkans). The missionaries Cyril and Methodius from the city of Thessalonica were the founders of the Glagolic Alphabet and the first literary language of the Slavs, from which the modern Bulgarian Language evolved. In the late 14th century - early 15th century, both Bulgaria and Greece came under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries. During this period the Bulgarian Patriarchate was abolished and the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople was declared by the Ottoman Sultan as the spiritual leader of all the Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire, regardless of their ethnicity. In the 19th century the Bulgarians began a struggle for the restoration of an independent Bulgarian church, which was met with stiff opposition by the Constantinople Patriarchy. While the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was restored in 1872, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, mostly due to pressure from the Ottoman Porte, refused to recognize it until much later, in 1945, and especially after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the end of the Balkan & World Wars. In the earlier 20th century the relations were affected by periods of intense mutual hostility. Since Bulgaria's independence in 1908, Greece and Bulgaria took part in three major wars in opposite coalitions, the Second Balkan War, the First World War and the Second World War, plus the Cold War, and they even fought a "Stray dog war" in 1925. After the Second World War, the relations between Greece and Bulgaria have been flourishing, and as the Greek President Konstantinos Tsatsos said during the Bulgarian leader Todor Zhivkov's visit to Athens in April 1976, ''"the old controversies have been forgotten and the hatchet buried forever"''.〔(Bulgaria and its neighbours: a hundred years after independence )〕 Greece became a firm supporter of Bulgaria’s EU membership and was the fifth EU member state and the first old member state to ratify the Accession Treaty.〔Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs: (Bilateral relations between Greece and Bulgaria )〕 Since Bulgaria joined NATO in May 2004, Greek-Bulgarian relations have been developing on all fronts, and the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs describes relations between Greece and Bulgaria as "excellent".〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bulgaria–Greece relations」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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