EUBAM Rafah welcomes the arrival of new Head of Mission Nataliya Apostolova.
Nataliya Apostolova is an experienced Bulgarian diplomat who has served over 25 years both in her national diplomatic administration and in the European External Action Service (EEAS).
Just before joining EUBAM Rafah, she concluded her three-year tenure as Head of Mission of EUPOL COPPS, the other EU CSDP Mission based and operational in the Palestinian Territories.
Nataliya Apostolova was holding high level positions in the Bulgarian state administration, including managing the EU accession negotiations of Bulgaria in three main fields – transport, information society and Trans-European networks.
She has been holding diplomatic positions in the Permanent Representation of Bulgaria to World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva and in the Permanent Representation of Bulgaria to the EU.
From 2010 until 2020, Nataliya Apostolova served in the EEAS holding senior posts in Egypt (as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation), in Libya (Ambassador/ Head of the EU Delegation in Tripoli) and in Kosovo as EU Special Representative (EUSR)/Head of the Office of the EU in Pristina.
She will replace Romanian Colonel Florin Bulgariu, who has been Head of EUBAM Rafah since 1 November 2020.
We are delighted to welcome such an experienced diplomat, who is well familiar with the region and our counterparts. Together with the EUBAM Rafah team, she will advance the implementation of our mandate, also in the current challenging situation, for the benefit of our counterparts.
