site.btaVice President Addresses Western Balkans Leadership Academy

Vice President Iliana Iotova addressed the participants at the opening of the Western Balkans Leadership Academy of civil servants from Western Balkans administrations, which is taking place in Sofia, on 27-29 March 2025. “A leader thinks a couple of steps ahead, foresees future challenges and suggests various possible solutions. Some of them often seem risky but are the right ones thanks to the good prognosis” Iotova said quoted by the press office of the presidency.

The Academy for the improvement of leadership skills in public administration is organized through cooperation with the Specialized Administration and Management Institute of La Francophonie in Sofia and the Regional School for Public Administration in Podgorica within the framework of the European Francophonie School Platform.

In her address Iotova said that the leader never stops learning and is well acquainted with the environment he works in. “As for the states on the Balkans, a person must be well acquainted with the history of one of the most complicated regions in Europe and the contemporary challenges it faces, in order to suggest adequate solutions,” the vice president said.

There is a deficit in leadership on a political level at the top of European institutions, Iliana Iotova said, adding that the EU is absent in the efforts to solve the global crises. “The European Union is gradually, but consistently, losing its leading role on the continent which bears talents, inventions and innovations. A continent that creates and strengthens peace,” the Vice President said. As an example of the lack of European leadership, she pointed to the European policy on the Western Balkans. “The European Union for so many years has been unable to give a straightforward answer for their political development, to give a clear perspective to Western Balkan states, which would motivate their citizens. My deep conviction is that the place of these states is in the European Union,” Iotova added.

The Leadership Academy aims to provide a series of interactive sessions with seasoned French professionals with leadership track records in academic, administrative, and business sectors. It aims to encourage Western Balkans civil servants with the opportunity to learn how practical leadership skills can help them navigate complex administrative environments, by anticipating problems, optimizing their work and contributing to the transformative effects of the public administration.

The Academy also provides the opportunity for peer exchanges and the creation of a strong regional network of public sector leaders, to further support the transformation of public administrations in the Western Balkans.