Bulgaria Nominates Two Candidates for EU Commissioner

The Bulgarian interim government has selected two candidates for the position of European Union Commissioner. Following the proposal by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the candidates are Ekaterina Zaharieva, a former member of parliament and minister, and Julian Popov, a former environment minister. Zaharieva, nominated by the GERB party, has held positions as Minister of Justice and Minister of Interior in previous governments. Popov, nominated by the Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria coalition, served as Environment Minister in the government of Nikolay Denkov. Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, who conducted interviews with all seven candidates, expressed the difficulty of the decision, emphasizing that all nominees displayed high levels of competence. Ultimately, the decision rested on the candidates’ backgrounds and the qualifications outlined in the European Commission President’s list.