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The Bulgarian candidate for European Commissioner Ekaterina Zakharieva will be heard by the EP on November 5

by AI | 10.Oct 2024 | Europe in brief AI

If there are additional written questions from the Members of the European Parliament, a repeat hearing may be scheduled.

Ekaterina Zaharieva. Photo: Hristo Kasabov, BTA

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BRUSSELS – Bulgaria’s candidate for European Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva will be heard by the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy on November 5. This is indicated in the schedule for the upcoming exams of the candidates for European Commissioners, distributed today by the EP.

Earlier, EP spokespersons clarified that the hearings will last for three hours. It is envisaged that the initial approval of the candidates will be by a majority of the votes in the exam committees, and in case the necessary support is not achieved, MEPs have the right to ask additional written questions and schedule a repeat hearing of one and a half hours.

The hearings of the other candidates for European Commissioners will take place from November 4 to 12. The EP plans to vote on the composition of the new commission at its session from November 25 to 28.

Bulgaria was the only EU member state that fulfilled the EC’s recommendation to nominate two candidates for European Commissioner – a man and a woman. Among the nominations proposed by all parliamentary groups, the Bulgarian government chose and nominated Ekaterina Zaharieva and Yuliyan Popov for European Commissioner, nominated respectively by GERB-SDS (“European People’s Party”) and “We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria” (“Renew Europe”/EPP).

After the interviews with both candidates, EC President Ursula von der Leyen requested that Acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev officially designate Ekaterina Zaharieva as the sole Bulgarian candidate. This became a fact on September 9, completing the procedure for nominating a candidate for European Commissioner from Bulgaria.

Ekaterina Zaharieva was proposed by EC President Ursula von der Leyen for European Commissioner for Startups, Science and Innovation.

Ekaterina Zaharieva has been Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2017 – 2021), Minister of Justice (2015-2017), as well as Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works (2009 – 2012) in three governments of Boyko Borissov. She has also been part of two caretaker governments as well as a Member of Parliament from the 44th National Assembly to the 50th National Assembly. Zaharieva was also the Chief Secretary of President Rosen Plevneliev (2012-2017) and the head of his office. (10.10.2024).

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