This week Bulgaria has to propose the new, Bulgarian European Commissioner. We are in an interesting situation. On the one hand, the official cabinet has no way to make an independent decision because of the early elections, but on the other hand, this is a chance, finally, to elect a commissioner not on party lines, but on merit.
For this, he called on "Facebook" Slavi Trifonov.
The Bulgarian European Commissioner must be the face of the country before the European Union and the European institutions. He must be a decent person and most importantly have the necessary qualities for this position.
Must be a proven professional who can work in an international environment and represent Bulgaria, not specific party interests. Therefore, our European Commissioner must first have the necessary qualities, the necessary education, the necessary professional experience and the necessary moral qualities.
In the current political situation in the country, without a regular government, it is most likely that we will get the same portfolio, namely - European Commissioner for Innovation, Scientific Research, Culture, Education and Youth, and therefore we need to put forward a candidate with a strong expert profile to take over this responsibility. Very few people combine a strong scientific profile and knowledge of European legislation and policies.
We, from "There Is Such a People", believe that the country has such a person. This is Doctor Velislava Petrova. Dr. Velislava Petrova is an expert with extensive international experience at the United Nations, the World Bank and other international organizations. Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, led key negotiations for Bulgaria on Schengen, OECD and EU enlargement. He has a broad knowledge of European legislation in the fields of health care, education, technology and innovation. An internationally recognized scientist with experience in Europe and the countries of the Global South.
We will briefly introduce you to her education and qualifications.
Secondary education:
National Science and Mathematics High School, Sofia, Bulgaria, graduating with a Gold Diploma and being the top of the class;
BA, Microbiology with industry experience from
University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
Topper of the class and winner of the award for the best
internship research project;
Doctor of Biological Sciences,
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Genomic studies for the study of the immune system in infectious diseases and in immunizations.
Her scientific work published in Science Immunology is among the 100 most read scientific studies of 2019 (Altmetric Top 100) and has been featured in BBC, Financial Times, Forbes and Time Magazine;
Doctor Velislava Petrova is the winner of the awards:
“The most outstanding young personalities of Bulgaria"
- area “Innovations in medicine";
- laureate of the award for 2021
“University of Cambridge Chancellor's Award";
- award for leading scientists in the field of global health and sustainable
development.
In 2018 he was a POST-DOCTORAL STUDENT, GENOME RESEARCH in Cambridge, Great Britain
• Leader of partnerships with international research groups for genomic studies and immune response profiling in
autoimmune diseases.
In 2019, he was a RESEARCH ASSOCIATE AND LECTURER at
University of Cambridge, King’s College, Cambridge, UK.
2019 – 2020 working as an Innovation Consultant at the United Nations Agency for HIV/AIDS, Geneva, Switzerland.
In 2021 he is an INTERNATIONAL DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT
World Bank, Geneva, Switzerland;
From 2022 he is SENIOR MANAGER, HEALTH LEGISLATION AND INVESTMENTS at the International Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, Geneva, Switzerland;
In 2022 – 2023, Doctor Velislava Petrova was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria,
Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the negotiations with the European Commission on issues related to the enlargement of the European Union, Bulgaria's membership in Schengen and the withdrawal of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism;
It is extremely important to note that while he was Deputy. the foreign minister, Dr. Velislava Petrova, never once betrayed the Bulgarian national interests on the topic of dropping the veto to North Macedonia. Thanks to her firmness and patriotism, the European representatives and many of our empowered apostates were forced to abandon their original unconditional and stooped position on this subject.
In 2023-2024, she is a SENIOR CONSULTANT ON HEALTH LEGISLATION at the International Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. Currently, Dr. Velislava Petrova is the CHIEF PROGRAM DIRECTOR at the International Center for Future Generations, Brussels, Belgium.
I am sure that Dr. Velislava Petrova will be a worthy European Commissioner who will not only cope with her tasks in this responsible position, but also protect Bulgarian national interests in the EU. She is a self-made person thanks to her skills, knowledge and her morals and we as a nation can only be proud of people like her.
If the acting Prime Minister, Dimitar Glavchev, detaches himself from party affiliations, he will be able to make the right decision for the country and propose Doctor Velislava Petrova as the new Bulgarian European Commissioner. We hope that the other political parties and all state institutions will act statesmanship and support her candidacy, because Dr. Velislava Petrova is the logical and right choice for Bulgaria.