Sofia has left its decision until the last minute – but is the only capital heeding Ursula von der Leyen’s request to propose a man and a woman for the EU executive.
ADVERTISEMENTFormer foreign minister Ekaterina Zaharieva and ex-minister of ecology Julian Popov were proposed as Bulgaria’s two candidates for European Commissioner on Friday (30 August).
The candidacies were apparently discussed late last night between President Rumen Radev and Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, and were confirmed in a post on X by Bulgaria's EU representation.
That makes Bulgaria the only country to accede to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s request to propose both male and female candidates by a 30 August deadline.
Zaharieva was selected by the GERB party, Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, which sits with the centre-right European People’s Party, while the centrist We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria party, from the liberal Renew Europe group, proposed Popov.
Each EU member state must nominate an appointee for the EU executive set to start in office in November, but this appears to have been delayed by Bulgaria’s ongoing political crisis. Currently, the country is being run by a caretaker government led by the conservatives until elections are held on 27 October.
Zaharieva, a politician and diplomat born in 1975, has had a long ministerial career.
In 2013 she was appointed minister of regional development and public works. In 2014, under Prime Minister Georgi Bliznashki, she became deputy prime minister, focusing on economic policy and administrative reform, before becoming minister of justice in the second Boyko Borissov government, and, from 2017-2021, foreign affairs minister.
Popov was named minister of environment and water for a brief tenure in 2013 and then continued work in environmental policy, becoming a senior advisor to the European Climate Foundation, advocating the transition to renewable energy.
It’s not yet clear what portfolio the successful candidate will be given by von der Leyen – but she’s under pressure to appoint more women, as the current tally, excluding Bulgaria, includes 18 male names and just seven female.
This story has been updated since publication to refer to the Permanent Representation's X post.