In the midst of this year's student candidate campaign, the question what the most desired major at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski” would be, sounds like a rhetorical one. In the past four years, the undisputed number one choice in the wishes of future graduates is "Law" at the Faculty of Law of the oldest and most prestigious university in Bulgaria.

The speciality is one of the few to date that directly provides Master’s degree after five years of study. Of course, the Faculty of Law of the Sofia University (SU) also offers several separate master's programs for graduates with Bachelor's degree from other specialities. One such program is the oldest specialized international program in this country – "European Union Law". It was created in the year of Bulgaria's accession to the community – 2007, based on an agreement between the "St. Kliment Ohridski" University and Université de Lorraine (which today unites the European University Center in Nancy and Metz, France), with the participation of the University of Strasbourg, and is carried out under the auspices of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria and with the support of the Embassy of France in Bulgaria.

The program is the only highly qualified educational program in this country and the region, focused on the law of the European Union, which turns the Sofia University into a leading centre for training specialists in the field of European integration in our country. Graduate from the University of Nancy Associate Professor of European Union Law Dr. Hristo Hristev has been part of the program since its inception and is its head today.

"The program is the largest master's program of Sofia University. At the moment, 38 people are studying in it. But in the first years after our accession to the European Union, the number of students was over 100, as in some years the number reached up to 140-150 colleagues. Mainly Bulgarian students are trained in the program, but in recent years we also have students from Ukraine, Moldova and other countries. I call them students, but the truth is that most of them are colleagues who already have a law degree or another master's degree and respectively need this additional qualification in connection with certain specific needs of their professional activity. For example, quite a few magistrates have passed through the program, including a number of judges from the Supreme Administrative Court.

Since the creation of the program more than 800 people have become masters in "EU Law" with diplomas from Sofia University. The training lasts two semesters and takes place both in Bulgarian and in French, which guarantees the possibility of obtaining a double diploma for a specialist in international relations with "European Union Law" profile.

"The French language gives access to the French doctrine, which is one of the most valuable national doctrines in the sphere of European Union Law, which has been developed continuously over time. To a large extent, French is the language of European Union law. So this guarantees a much stronger connection with the matter, an opportunity to use valuable sources that allow not only to form knowledge, but also to know in depth the development of the legal system of the European Union and its peculiarities” Assoc. Hristo Hristev says.

Some of the graduates apply what they have learned in various European institutions and in other EU Member States.

Read also:

• The Technical University and the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy offer world-standard education in French

• French philology specialists in Bulgaria have good opportunities for professional realization

Publication in English: Al. Markov

Photos: Facebook /Faculty of Law of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", personal archive, law.uni-sofia.bg