The European Commission (EC) appointed Ognian Zlatev as the new Head of the EC Representation in Zagreb. Zlatev is succeeding Branko Baricevic, who is becoming an Adviser to EC President Juncker for the preparation of the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2020, the EC said in a press release on Tuesday.

Zlatev, a Bulgarian who is currently the head of the European Commission’s Representation in Sofia, will take up his duties in Zagreb on 1 July.

The press release introduces Zlatev as “a highly experienced expert in communication, with nearly 30 years of professional experience.”

This diplomat is praised for having successfully supported “the Commission’s work over the past six years at the Representation in Sofia and notably during the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2018.”

Zlatev, who speaks Bulgarian, English, Russian, Croatian, Macedonian and Serbian, graduated from Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski and holds an M.A. in Classical Philology. Subsequently, he obtained qualifications in political communication, media relations and development, election campaigning and NGO management.

Baricevic “has been the Head of the European Commission Representation in the Republic of Croatia since 1 July 2013, when Croatia became the EU’s 28th Member State. He joined the European Commission from the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he had served, between 2005 and 2012, as the Head of Mission of Croatia to the European Union in Brussels. He had previously worked in different diplomatic missions of Croatia (to the U.S., Cyprus and Portugal),” the EC says.

“Prior to his diplomatic career, Mr Baricevic was a medical doctor, having undertaken studies in Zagreb, New York and Munich.”

The EC has Representations in all EU Member States, as well as Regional Offices in Barcelona, Belfast, Bonn, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Marseille, Milan, Munich and Wroclaw.