Roel has been in Bulgaria for a year, leading a project on social security.

GIVEN that he stands two metres tall, it would be easy to expect that 59-year-old Dutch national Roel Van De Waal is a formidable character.

On the contrary, Van De Waal has a genuinely gentle view of the world, with both feet firmly on the ground. He is exceptionally modest about his work achievements, especially when it comes to the subject of his role as resident twinning adviser for the EU Phare Twinning project on social security.

Social security co-ordination preparedness for Bulgaria's membership of the EU means, in layperson's terms, that Roel is preparing various Bulgarian agencies to have the knowledge and tools necessary to bring Bulgaria's social security system in line with the EU's policy among member states. The key issues are pensions, illness and unemployment benefits.

The EU's mandate in a united Europe is for the free movement of the workforce among member states. The constitution says that no worker should be disadvantaged, discriminated against or penalised, when living or working abroad within its territories.

He likes the challenges and excitement of new places. Roel was born in the north of the Netherlands and at a young age moved to the southern region of Zeeland where he completed his secondary school education. He then ventured into Utrecht, in the country's centre, to study law. In the past 25 years, he has had vast work experience in his chosen field, including managing a regional office for the Netherlands social security bank, holding the national responsibility for compiling department training manuals and guidelines, and managed the law and enforcement division to crack down on pension fraud.

Before he arrived in Bulgaria last October, Roel was posted on a similar assignment, on social dialogue, in Slovakia. 

He smiles as he says that his role is to bring people together for the common good, but that is not always as easy as it may seem. At one of his Slovakian conferences, the two typically opposing groups - unions and employers - were invited to draw a picture of their "opponents". Both the trade union and the employers' federation delegates produced images of sharks and snakes and rivals fighting. Roel suggested that they all might like to think of each other as "partners", especially since they were there to form a "collective labour agreement". The idea of bringing groups together is to highlight that they actually do have common interests; he uses this as a starting point, and progresses from there.

Roel is emphatic as he explains that the EU's role is to co-ordinate, not to harmonise. Each country has its own policy on social security, and this remains the responsibility of each member state, but co-ordination ensures smooth cohesion among countries.
To date the programme has brought together:
· The National Social Security Institute;
· The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy;
· The National Health Insurance Institute;
· The Ministry of Health;
· and the Social Assistance Agency.

Also a keen rower, Roel takes his own Concept II Rower training machine wherever he is assigned. This might have been a fact that the National Bulgarian Rowing Association overlooked when they accepted his entry into the National Masters competition this year. He completed the 500-meter course in a cracking 1 min 33 seconds, a time that any amateur rower, let alone a 59-year-old, would be proud of. He took home the trophy and national Masters title with it, but not without some controversy. Competition organisers could not believe that a 59-year-old man could row such a time and demanded that he provide proof of his age.

He returns to his hometown of Castricum on October 1, after a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding one-year assignment. He says that he really liked his Bulgarian experience, especially the people who, in his view, are delightful, open-minded, co-operative, proud and self-confident. "It is wonderful how Bulgarians are able to laugh at themselves," he says approvingly.

The final conference will be held on September 8 in the Rodina Hotel. The results of the project will be presented. The involved agencies will outline their future activities, especially regarding information for Bulgarian citizens who want to work abroad. For details contact either the Phare Twinning Project or the National Social Security Institute.