Preparation for the Bulgarian Presidency
“Trainings for improving the capacity of the Bulgarian administration for participation in the EU decision-making process and for fullfilment of Republic of Bulgaria membership obligations”
The project awarded to EIPA in January 2017, as the lead of a consortium with ENA (École Nationale d’Administration), was a recognition of our long-established reputation in Presidency preparation for EU Member States, as well as of our role as a trusted partner for the Bulgarian public administration. EIPA was honoured to lead the preparation of the first Presidency rotation for Bulgaria since it joined the EU in 2007.
Between March and October 2017, EIPA and its consortium partner implemented 54 group training sessions in Sofia (BG) and six group training sessions in Brussels (BE) for the following target groups:
- Future chairs and deputy-chairs of Council working groups
- Officials performing various functions in the national EU affairs coordination mechanism
- Policy coordinators
The main objective of this project was to improve and upgrade the relevant knowledge and skills of Bulgarian civil servants and public officials in preparation for the 2018 Bulgaria’s Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2018.
As the lead of the consortium, EIPA was responsible for over 80% of the training services, including the design and delivery of modules 1 and 3.
Module 1, entitled ‘EU legislative process and the practice of trilogue after the Lisbon treaty. Strategies and tactics for lobbying,’ was a three-day module delivered to 1011 participants (including all 300 chairs and deputy chairs) divided in 36 groups
The Bulgarian participants were highly positive about the training. Below are some of the comments regarding Module 1:
‘This is probably the best training related to the Presidency that I have attended. It was very well structured and gave me a lot of information. The instructors were excellent.’
‘It was very well structured and expertly delivered. The practical examples were extremely useful.’
‘The training session was innovative and exciting. Thank you for this.’
Module 2, entitled ‘Chairing the meetings of the Council working groups,’ was a three- day module designed and delivered by the Consortium partner ENA for 300 participants, divided in 12 groups
Module 3, entitled ‘Documents and document flow of the EU,’ was a two-day module delivered to 360 participants (including all 300 chairs and deputy chairs) divided in 12 groups.
’I am very happy to have participated in the training session. The were simply perfect, and the information presented was very interesting. I think that the practical orientation of the training will be very useful for preparing the Bulgarian presidency of the Council. We received many tips and gained experience on how to facilitate the work that will be part of the upcoming Presidency.’
‘This was the best training I have participated in so far. Thank you very much!’
‘The information from this training session will be very useful to me.’
With the aim of facilitating continuous self-learning and sustainable learning results, EIPA designed and maintained an online learning platform that all participants were free to use. The platform provides access to preparatory e-learning modules, other preparatory and general reference materials, as well as materials and documents for continuous self-learning.
In light of the very positive feedback from the Bulgarian participants and the contracting party, the Bulgarian Institute of Public Administration (IPA), EIPA will continue to support Bulgaria’s Presidency during key events of the 2018 BG Presidency Calendar.