Philip Dimitrov selected to head EU delegation
15 September 2010 News
Statement by Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov
in connection with the appointments of Heads of EU Delegation to third countries announced by Mrs Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Today the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Mrs Catherine Ashton, appointed 29 Heads of EU Delegation to third countries, including former Bulgarian Prime Minister Philip Dimitrov.
“We are satisfied not only with the fact that the 29 EU ambassadors include a Bulgarian but also with the selection procedure. The High Representative Mrs Ashton made it realistically possible for the best people to be selected for the top posts of the European External Action Service. The procedure was absolutely transparent and open,” said Minister Nickolay Mladenov.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided the information on the 2010 rotation exercise for management posts to the broadest range of candidates, after which they were shortlisted on the basis of the applications received and interviews by panels including representatives of the European Commission, the Council and the Member States in Brussels. The final selection was made by Mrs Ashton herself.
Mr Philip Dimitrov, one of the four appointees from the new Member States, will head the EU Delegation to Georgia. “By the selection of a Bulgarian as Head of EU Delegation in a region of strategic importance to the European Union and Bulgaria, our country is making a tangible contribution to the modernisation of European foreign policy, in the name of our shared values and interests,” Nickolay Mladenov emphasised.
Mr Dimitrov has served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria (1991-1992), Member of the 36th, 37th and 40th National Assembly, Permanent Representative to the UN (1997-1998), Ambassador to the US (1998-2001), and observer at the European Parliament (2007).