Filip Dimitrov Confirmed as Bulgaria's EU Envoy

Filip Dimitrov, former chair of the Union of Democratic Forces, former Bulgarian PM, ex-envoy to the UN and USA, and now Bulgaria’s first EU envoy. Photo by BGNES

Filip Dimitrov, former Bulgarian Prime Minister, right-wing leader and senior diplomat, will assume the post of EU ambassador to Georgia, the Bulgarian National Radio, reported.

Catherine Ashton, the European Union's Foreign Policy Chief, announced Wednesday several out of a total of 29 appointments to EU delegations around the world, Dimitrov's among them.

Two out of eighteen Bulgarian candidates managed to make it to the final stage of the selection process for members of the new EU External Action Service where Georgia is among the countries considered top-priority for the EU.

In addition to Dimitrov, who is also a former Bulgarian Ambassador to the US, the other candidate was career diplomat, Stefan Tafrov. Tafrov has 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.

According to reports Ashton had five top choices for the Tbilisi position, including Dimitrov. The rest were John Kjaer, a Danish-origin European Commission official in charge of the body's policy for post-Soviet countries; Eric Fournier, the current French ambassador to Georgia; Normunds Popens, Latvia's ambassador to the EU; and Wojciech Zajaczkowski, Poland's ambassador to Romania.

French Fournier is believed to have been Ashton's favorite because of his key role in mediation during the 2008 war between Georgia and Russia.

On the other hand, sources have reported that the EU would want a representative who comes from a Black Sea region country – a requirement that Dimitrov satisfies.

Georgians on their part have been said to prefer a person with stronger influence in the EU to secure the country a good position in the integration process.

MORE about Filip Dimitrov READ HERE

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