RAMALLAH, Wednesday, October 14, 2020 (WAFA) - At a meeting of the Political and Security Committee of the Council of the European Union yesterday, Nataliya Apostolova, an experienced diplomat from Bulgaria, was appointed Head of EUPOL COPPS mission in Palestine, according to a press release.

Apostolova is the first Bulgarian national to be appointed to lead an EU Common Security and Defense Policy Mission. She will also be the first woman to head EUPOL COPPS.

Over the course of a diplomatic career spanning over 25 years, Apostolova has served in senior positions in the Middle East and the Balkans, where she has developed significant expertise in areas affected by conflict. She served as the Ambassador/Head of the EU Delegation to Libya from July 2013 – August 2016 and as the EU Special Representative/Head of the EU Office in Kosovo from September 2016 – August 2020, according to the EUPOL COPPS press release.

Prior to her appointment as Head of the EU Delegation to Libya, she served as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt, from July 2010 – July 2013, a position she was appointed to after almost two decades working in Bulgarian public service and the EU institutions as an official and diplomat.

After Apostolova takes up her post, EUPOL COPPS will be the first CSDP Mission to have a female Head of Mission and female Deputy Head of Mission serving at the same time. The Deputy Head of Mission is Katja Dominik, from Germany.

EUPOL COPPS, established on 1 January 2006, is the European Union Police and Rule of Law Mission for the Palestinian Territory. It assists the Palestinian Authority in building its institutions, for a future Palestinian state, focused on security and justice sector reforms.

M.K.