In foreign policy, the main priorities of the new government are Bulgaria's integration into European structures, NATO membership and maintaining close economic and political ties with the Republic of Turkey, the United States and the Russian Federation, as well as with the countries of the European Community.

On 21 November 2002, at the Prague Summit of NATO Heads of State and Government, a formal invitation was sent to Bulgaria to join the Alliance.

In the spring of 2003, the National Assembly decided on the participation of Bulgarian military units in the multinational forces for the reconstruction of Iraq.

On March 29, 2004, at a ceremony held at the US Treasury Department, the Republic of Bulgaria and six other Eastern European countries were accepted as full members of NATO.

It set both the date for accession (January 1, 2007) and the financial assistance of 3.6 billion euros over three years, as well as the reforms that the country is committed to implementing in the coming months.

Some of them (the sale of BTC, the attempt to conclude a concession agreement for the Trakia highway, the replacement of Bozhurishte airport, etc.)

The four-year rule of Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha's government was accompanied by significant changes in the country's political life.

In 2004, followers of the New Time political movement seceded from it, forming a new party and a separate parliamentary group.

Despite the split and the opposition's attempts to provoke early parliamentary elections (six unsuccessful no-confidence votes in the National Assembly), NMSS and MRF successfully served their four-year term in office.

To fix the problem the NDSV-DPS coalition signed an agreement with New Time to keep the government in power until the elections in June.