Go East! National Week of Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Georgia, Armenia and Belarus
The panel discussion will look at the current degree of regional integration of our respective countries, and specifically: Romania and Bulgaria's experiences in the European Union, on the one hand, and those of Belarus and Armenia in the Eurasian Union, on the other hand. We want to analyze the extent to which this polarizing geopolitical context influences the foreign policies of Moldova and Georgia.
Speakers will deliver presentations, followed by Q&A.
Ms Teona GIUASHVILI is Minister Plenipotentiary to Georgia's Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg, and Deputy Head of the Georgian Mission to the European Union. A former Deputy Director of the Department of International Organizations at the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she also served as UN Civil Affairs Officer with the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. Ms GIUASHVILI also worked as a researcher at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris.
Mr Nicu POPESCU is a Senior Analyst at the European Union Institute for Security Studies since July 2013, and specializes on Russia and the Eastern neighborhood. As an Advisor on foreign policy and EU affairs for the Prime Minister of Moldova, he also dealt with domestic reforms, such as visa liberalization and accession to the European Common Aviation Area. Prior to this, he served as Head of Programme and Senior Research Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations in London, and as a Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels.
Mr Paul IVAN joined the European Policy Centre in 2013 and works as a Policy Analyst in the European Politics and Institutions and the Europe in the World programmes. Previously, Mr IVAN was a diplomat working on the South Caucasus countries in the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While at the European External Action Service, he was involved in EU’s Association Agreement negotiations with the South Caucasus countries and Moldova.
Mr Dmitry YARMOLYUK is Counselor on EU Relations to the Ambassador of Belarus to Belgium. He previously served as Head of the European Integration Department at the Belarusian Foreign Ministry’s European Directorate. As Head of Belarus’ mission to the Council of Europe, in 2013 he mediated the country's joining the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. In addition, Mr. YARMOLYUK held office in the Embassy of Belarus to Italy.
Mr Hrachya HOVHANNISYAN is Counselor and Consul of Armenia to Belgium and Luxembourg. Prior to this position, he served as Counselor and Consul of Armenia in Austria, Hungary, the Czech and Slovak Republics. In 2000-2003, he was the First Secretary and Consul of Armenia in Greece, Cyprus and former Yugoslavia. Mr HOVHANNISYAN also served as the First Secretary and Consul of Armenia in Syria and Jordan.
Mr Dimitar DERMENDZHIEV is a graduate of the College of Europe and currently a Junior Consultant at the European Endowment for Democracy. Previously, he worked on EU enlargement and the European Neighborhood Policy at the European Stability Initiative. He also contributed to Belarus Project – a student driven blog on EU-Belarus affairs.
Reception to follow.
External guests are kindly asked to register below.