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Bulgarian political parties must submit nominations for the country’s new European Union commissioner by the end of this week, caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev urged on Monday, as ongoing political instability and preparations for early elections in October have delayed the process.
Earlier, President Rumen Radev confirmed on Monday (August 26) that Dimitar Glavchev will continue as caretaker prime minister and called for a swift nomination for Bulgaria’s next European Commissioner.
“This weekend, the government should put forward a proposal for Bulgaria to appoint an EU commissioner,” the president said during a meeting with Glavchev on Monday.
In this regard, Glafchev confirmed that he would “start a dialogue with the MPs who nominated candidates for EU Commissioner, and the government will take it into consideration.” At the same time, he made it clear that since he is the head of the caretaker government, he will not bear political responsibility for the nomination.
According to unofficial Eurojust sources, Bulgaria’s first choice is Iliana Ivanova, the current Bulgarian commissioner, whose portfolio includes innovation, research, culture, education and youth.
Caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, a former lawmaker for Boyko Borissov’s European People’s Party (GERB), nominated Ivanova for the 2023 EU commissioner post.
However, Petar Vitanov, former head of the Bulgarian Socialist Party delegation to the European Parliament, told Euractiv that he was concerned about the delays and limited participation of Bulgaria in the European Commission negotiations, suggesting the country might get a marginal position “that no one wants”.
“The longer it goes, the more pessimistic I become about the possibilities of getting a serious and solid portfolio,” Vitanov said, stressing that most EU countries had already started negotiations in Brussels.
“No one wants to negotiate with Brussels. From my conversations with both commissioners, I understand that no such negotiations have taken place – Bulgaria has not negotiated for any position. There is only a short time left before the deadline, during which a caretaker prime minister must be elected, and then action can be taken. This will leave us with a position that no one wants. Poor leftovers,” Vitanov added.
According to unofficial information from the Bulgarian Parliament, Bulgaria’s priority areas include energy and transportation.
However, Greece is seen as a popular choice in the transport and energy sectors, making it almost impossible for Bulgaria to secure its preferred portfolio, as Bulgaria’s energy sector is suspected of having strong informal ties with Russia.
“It’s difficult to get this opportunity. The (energy) sector is attractive; other countries have already shown interest. These countries are also in the lead in the negotiations,” Vitanov explained.
He also stressed that according to the information he has, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia have three posts, namely regional policy, transport and defense.
(Editing by Martina Monti and Daniel Eck)
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