The aim of the course is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union, its complex structure and decision-making process, its crisis-management procedures and crisis-response mechanism, and its integrated approach to external conflicts and crises.
The course started with keynote speeches given by Ms. Tanya Mihaylova, Director of the Bulgarian Diplomatic Institute, Col. Assoc. Dr. Dimitar Tashkov, Deputy Head of the Academic and Scientific department of the National Defence College and Ms. Plamena Karaivanova, Head of the EU and International Organisations department at the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence. They highlighted the importance of running courses under the aegis of the ESDC and stressed that this has the full support of the Bulgarian government. On the first day of the training course, the participants listened to and exchanged ideas with Mr Velizar Shalamanov, a former Bulgarian Minister of Defence, Dr Plamen Ralchev, a university lecture and Associate Professor and Ms Seda Kuzuju, the UNHCR representative in Bulgaria.
The training course focused on topics related to the current geopolitical environment and the challenges facing European security. These included Bulgarian priorities within the Common Security and Defence Policy, EU military assistance to Ukraine and the strategic partnership between the EU and NATO. Time was also allocated to the Black Sea region’s security issues in the global geopolitical context.The course was attended by 42 participants from Austria, Azerbaijan, Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Moldova, the Netherlands and Ukraine.
