ECFR makes its pitch in Sofia

ECFR inagurated its office in Sofia, Bulgaria today with an international conference on the EU's relations with Russia, the Western Balkans and the Black Sea region. The event was attended by two of the ECFR co-chairs Martti Ahtisaari and Mabel van Oranje, as well as Georgy Pirinski, Speaker of the Bulgarian National Assembly, and Gergana Grancharova, Minister of European Affairs. Mark Leonard and Nicu Popescu presented the findings of the latest ECFR's report on EU-Russia bilateral relations in a debate with Svetoslav Bojilov and Ivan Krastev, both members of the ECFR Council, while the debate on the Western Balkans and Kosovo featured Tim Judah, Thanos Veremis, and Ivan Vejvoda. Audio excerpts of the discussion can be dowloaded from the website of the Open Society Institute in Bulgaria, which was co-organiser of the event.