STUDENTS FROM VARNA FREE UNIVERSITY WILL TAKE PART IN A SIMULATION OF THE EU COUNCIL IN BRUSSELS

11 January 2023

The students from Varna Free University - Gergana Atanasova and Alessandro Tanchis are part of the Bulgarian team that will represent our country in Brussels in the ConSIMium simulation organized by the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. Gergana Atanasova will take on the role of the Bulgarian Minister for European Affairs, and Alessandro Tanchis will participate in the preparation of the expert opinion. The national coordinator of the Bulgarian student team is Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yuliana Mateeva - a long-time professor of law at VFU "Chernorizets Hrabar".

ConSIMium is a simulation experience in the Council that will involve student teams from all 27 EU member states. Students from each national team will step into the roles of a Prime Minister, a Minister for European Affairs, journalists and experts. They will participate directly in the simulated negotiations between Member States in the decision-making process at the European level. The first ConSIMium will take place in Brussels on 2-3 February 2023, with a total of 162 students and 27 national coordinators participating. They have already been selected at the national level and are actively preparing. However, the questions that the future leaders will face will become clear during the simulation.

Varna Free University sends two of its best students to Brussels.

Gergana Atanasova is a third-year student majoring in Law. Last year, she was awarded the "Student of the Year" prize in the field of "Legal Sciences" by the National Representation of Student Councils. He is the recipient of an award of the Municipality of Varna for 2022. Gergana is an excellent student and a member of the Student Council of VFU "Chernorizets Hrabar". She also actively participates in the additional initiatives and trainings that the university offers. He is a member of the Criminology Club at the university and the programme Corps of Witnesses for the State Authorities. At VFU "Chernorizets Hrabar", Gergana also acquired the additional qualification of "Teacher of Philosophy". He has been dancing folk dances for 15 years.

Alessandro Tanchis is a second-year student majoring in International Business, and studies in the English programme at Varna Free University. He was born in Bulgaria, but has been living in Italy for eight years. He defines himself as an ambitious entrepreneur who likes to create a successful business. In his free time, he plays sports, improves his English and travels. He believes that by participating in ConSIMium, he will improve his understanding of the structure and politics of the EU. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Juliana Mateeva actively works with the team of the Bulgarian students. She is a teacher with over 20 years of experience at VFU "Chernorizets Hrabar" and a long-time head of the Department of Legal Sciences at the Faculty of Law (2012-2020). Assoc. Prof. Mateeva was an advisor to the Prime Minister (August - November 2014). She has experience in working with foreign students, she participated in a number of mobilities under the Erasmus+ programme. He is an expert at the National Agency for Assessment and Accreditation and has over 40 publications in Bulgarian and international editions, a member of the Union of Scientists and a lawyer at Varna Bar Association.

Representatives from the American University in Blagoevgrad and the University of Economics - Varna are also preparing together with the students from Varna Free University. They will "step into the shoes" of EU decision-makers - they will gain a better understanding of the role of Member States in the EU decision-making process, learn more about the work of the EU institutions, in particular the Council, they will develop a sense of belonging to a European project, they will acquire teamwork and negotiation skills, they will gain insight into future professional opportunities and ideas for a future career in public administration, the organizers of the event say.