Announcement of the conference "New Actors in a New Environment: EU Accession, Civil society and Multi-Level Governance" that will be organized by BECSA on 15-16 May 2009 (Friday-Saturday) in Sofia under the project CINEFOGO "Civil Society and New Forms of Governance in Europe: The Making of European Identity". Those interested can address BECSA at the email address: becsa@becsa.org

Krassimir Nikolov, BECSA secretary general, completes his work on an expert briefing on the subject "Implementation of the EU-Russia common space on science, education and culture" to be submitted to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament and written within a project coordinated by the Trans-European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA) (project description).

Within the EU-CONSENT project, an international expert team prepares an analytical overview No. 7 of the positions of EU member states and candidate countries on topical issues of EU development in the first half of 2008 "EU-27 WATCH No. 7". Analysis on Bulgaria is elaborated by BECSA members: IVAN STOYANOV, VLADIMIR SHOPOV, ELIZABET YONEVA, BORIS KOSTOV, KRASSIMIR NIKOLOV. (You can download the text of the overview from here.)

Vladimir Shopov, BECSA member and manager of "Sophia Analytica", completes his work on an expert briefing on the subject "Implementation of the EU-Russia common space on external security" to be submitted to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament and written within a project coordinated by the Trans-European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA) (project description).

BECSA organizes a workshop in Koprivshtitsa under the CINEFOGO project in preparation of work on the theme "New Actors in a New Environment: EU Accession, Civil Society and Multi-Level Governance" (rationale, participants, programme, photos).

BECSA presents in Brussels the books "Citizens' Europe: Reflections on the Implications of the Lisbon Treaty" (volume structure & list of contributors) and "The European Neighbourhood Policy: Time to Deliver" (volume structure & list of contributors), published within the project "Networking for Citizens and Neighbours: Networking for Europe" (project page).

BECSA and the Trans-European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA) organize in Brussels a concluding conference on the theme "Integrating Bulgaria in EU Politics and Policy: Focus on Citizens and Neighbours" under the project "Networking for Citizens and Neighbours - Networking for Europe" (conference programme) (project page). At the conference, BECSA is presented by Dinko Dinkov, Krassimir Nikolov, Rumyana Kolarova, Katia Hristova-Valtcheva, Vladimir Shopov, Mariya Nikolova.

BECSA organises a public discussion on the topic "The Eastern Neighbours of the EU: Perspectives for Differentiated Integration" under the project "EU-CONSENT" of the Sixth Framework Programme of the EU, with the participation of the guest-speaker Prof. Dr. Geoffrey Edwards, Jean Monnet professor at the Centre for International Studies of the University of Cambridge, UK, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dinko Dinkov, and Krassimir Nikolov (programme).

Prof. Dr. Geoffrey Edwards from the Centre for International Studies at Cambridge University, guest-lecturer of BECSA under the EU-CONSENT project, takes part in the foreign policy programme of journalist Georgi Papakochev "Svetat dnes" ("The world today") in the Balkan Bulgarian Television (BBT) (photos from the programme).

Discussion in the Red House with prof. Olivier Costa, professor at the University of Bordeaux, France, and lecturer at the College of Europe - Bruges, Belgium, on the topic "Elections europeennes: Pourquoi les citoyens se detournent-ils du Parlement europeen?" ("European elections: Why do citizens turn away from the European Parliament?") under the initiative "Europe ici et maintenant" ("Europe here and now") of the French Institute in Sofia. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dobrin Kanev, BECSA member, is discussant at the event. A description of the initiative "Europe ici et maintenant" can be found here.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dinko Dinkov and Krassimir Nikolov present BECSA in the foreign policy programme of journalist Georgi Papakochev "Svetat dnes" ("The world today") in the Balkan Bulgarian Television (BBT). This participation happens on the occasion of the publication of the volume "Adapting to Integration in an Enlarged European Union" in two parts vol. 1. "Adapting Key Policies in the Enlarged Union", vol. 2. "Adapting the Enlarged Union to the Citizen", published under the ESSHRA project of the Sixth Framework Programme of the EU (photos from the programme).

In the EU Information Centre, BECSA presents its edition "Adapting to Integration in an Enlarged European Union" in two parts vol. 1. "Adapting Key Policies in the Enlarged Union", vol. 2. "Adapting the Enlarged Union to the Citizen", published under the ESSHRA project of the Sixth Framework Programme of the EU. Prof. Dr. Petar-Emil Mitev, Director of the "Ivan Hadjiyski" Institute for Social Values and Structures, and Dr. Maria Prohaska, Director of the Centre for Economic Development, share their views on the publication with the authors and participants in the event (programme and photos).

Within the EU-CONSENT project, an international expert team prepares an analytical overview No. 6 of the positions of EU member states and candidate countries on topical issues of EU development in the second half of 2007 and the beginning of 2008 "EU-27 WATCH No. 6". Analysis on Bulgaria is elaborated by BECSA members: KALOYAN SIMEONOV, ELIZABET YONEVA, PLAMEN RALCHEV, DRAGOMIR STOYANOV, KRASSIMIR NIKOLOV. (You can download the text of the overview from here.)

The Permanent Representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria, with the support of BECSA and the Economic and Investment Bank, organises a discussion with the participation of commissioner Meglena Kuneva entitled "The Development of the European Internal Market and the Place of Bulgaria"

Discussion in the Red House with prof. Erwan Lannon, lecturer at the College of Europe - Bruges, on the topic "La Bulgarie et les strategies de voisinage de l'UE" ("Bulgaria and the EU's neighbourhood strategies") under the initiative "Europe ici et maintenant" ("Europe here and now") of the French Institute in Sofia. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dinko Dinkov, BECSA president is discussant at the event. A description of the initiative "Europe ici et maintenant" can be found here.