Euro-Atlantic Education Initiative

 The activities of Public Information Forum would generate spill over effect throughout the country and would contribute to elaboration of effective approach to communication and understanding of the joint exploitation of the military facilities located on Bulgaria. Under the considerably changed circumstances the Bulgarian military tasks and priorities to accommodate cooperation, interoperability and expeditionary forces, the issue to enhance communication and provide sustainable civil-military relations is of high importance. The moment is highly relevant to discuss and articulate these issues when pending the first rotation of US officers in the country.

First meeting of the follow-up project of Euro-Atlantic Education Initiative:  Public Information Forum: Promoting national support and understanding of the tasks and missions of the Bulgarian-US joint military facilities took place in the Bourgas Free University on 16 November 2007. The key note speakers were US Ambassador H.E. John Beyrle and Deputy Minister of Defence Mrs. Sonya Yankulova. Ambassador Beyrle made a brief overview of US Bulgaria relations and underlined that the joint military facilities are and will remain Bulgarian bases, with Bulgarian commanders, under a Bulgarian flag. The final Implementing Arrangements will be completed by early 2008, after which U.S. Army Europe will begin the process of issuing a tender to construct a base camp to support U.S. soldiers training at Polygon Novo Selo.  Mrs. Yankulova added that more Bulgarian-American military training events are expected to take place at the shared facilities in 2008, but the precise schedule remains to be finalized. The Deputy Chief of General Staff of Bulgarian Army Lieut. Gen. Galimir Pehlivanov and Members of Parliament from different political parties attended the Meeting. The event was broadly announced and released by all regional radio stations and regional TV channels covered the meeting and made several interviews and reports for the main regional news programs. The visit of US Ambassador in Bourgas and the Public Information Forum meeting were also reported in the Bourgas newspapers as well.

Location: Bourgas, Plovdiv, Russe, Veliko Tarnovo, Varna

Project donor: US Embassy Democracy Small Grants Program