Hotel “Lion” in Borovets gathered for the last time Class 2024 of the National Program “Governing Skills” of the Bulgarian School of Politics. The fourth course of the Program, dedicated to international and European policies was held from November 17 to 20. The training was opened by the head of the representation of the European Commission (EC) in Bulgaria Yordanka Chobanova. This was Mrs. Chobanova’s first visit as a lecturer in the National Program after her appointment as head of the Representation in March 2024. In her presentation to the trainees, she spoke about the need for competitiveness of the European Union (EU). She described this need as indispensable and pointed out that in the EU we rely on few suppliers of critical raw materials and import over 80% of digital technologies. Mrs. Chobanova also added that companies in the EU also face electricity prices that are 2-3 times higher than those in the US, and that only 4 of the world’s top 50 technology companies are European. “This can make us poorer, more dependent, more unequal, more insecure,” Mrs. Chobanova said. As a recipe for competitiveness, she indicated the investment in the future – in strategic technologies for economic growth and security. Mrs. Chobanova also considered the possibilities for financing strategic technologies. In the subsequent discussion, the head of the EC Representation asked the representatives of Class 2024 about their opinion on the balance between the interests of individual member states and how our country can be one of the winners. The last course of the training continued with a meeting with Andrey Kovachev, Christian Vigenin and Radan Kanev. The three MEPs presented their work priorities as members of the European Parliament. Irena Gidikova, Head of Democratic Institutions and Freedoms Department at the Council of Europe and Yonko Grozev – judge at the European Court of Human Rights (2015-2024) were also guest speakers in the program. Special attention was also paid to the challenges facing national and international security. Lecturer in this panel was Prof. Velizar Shalamanov – Deputy Minister of Defense (1998–2001) and Minister of Defense (2014). The work continued with a lecture by Prof. Alexander Hristov and work on a task on crisis communications in small groups. Yasen Georgiev from the Institute for Economic Policy spoke about what is happening in European economies and its impact on Bulgaria. Boryana Simeonova, director of the State Protocol Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke about the rules and behavior according to state and diplomatic protocol. The last lecturer was Prof. Ingrid Shikova, who introduced the trainees in detail to the institutions in the EU and, through a simulation game, showed them how decisions are made in the Union. Special guests of Class 2024 in this course were Miroslav Zafirov – diplomat and political advisor in the UN mission in Jerusalem, and the ambassador of North Macedonia to Bulgaria, H.E. Agnesa Russi Popovska. Those who have successfully completed the National Program 2024 will receive their diplomas at a special ceremony early next year.
