2 Bulgarian Runners Near EU Envoys Contest Final Line

Filip Dimitrov, former chair of the Union of Democratic Forces, former Bulgarian PM and ex-envoy to the UN and USA. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency.

Two out of eighteen Bulgarian candidates have managed to make it to the final stage of the selection process for members of the new EU External Action Service, the country's foreign ministry spokesperson said.

Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, plans to announce around 30 appointments to EU delegations around the world later this week.

Ashton has cautioned that the first wave of appointments would not result in full geographic and gender balance. She is expected to make a second wave of appointments, to the EEAS management in Brussels, later this autumn.

Filip Dimitrov, former Bulgarian PM, rightist leader and senior diplomat, is among the top names circulated for the position of EU ambassador to Georgia, as Georgia is among the countries considered as top-priority for the EU.

It has been made known that the second Bulgarian promising candidacy is that of diplomat Stefan Tafrov, who has also served as Bulgaria's UN envoy, as well as ambassador to the UK, France and Italy and as deputy foreign minister.

Filip Dimitrov, a lawyer by profession, chaired 1990-1994 the Union of Democratic Forces, the main rightist political movement in Bulgaria in the 90s. 1991-2 he was Bulgaria's first rightist PM after the transition. 1997-8 Dimitrov was Bulgaria's envoy to the UN, and then 1998-2001 he served as the country's ambassador to the US.

Throughout August, Bulgarian media have been reporting that Dimitrov has better chances over Tafrov and has made a "brilliant" showing in interviews.

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