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| Europe | |
| Bulgarian Drops Candidacy for European Commission | |
| 2010-01-20 | |
Rumiana Jeleva, who is Bulgaria's foreign minister, finally gave way to her political opponents, who had grilled her last week during a stormy hearing in the European Parliament. They had questioned both the transparency of her financial declarations and her competence to be a commissioner for humanitarian aid. The government in Sofia, which had initially resisted efforts to replace Ms. Jeleva, on Tuesday nominated an alternative candidate, Kristalina Georgieva, who has been vice president of the World Bank since 2008. The dramatic development means that plans for a vote in the European Parliament to confirm the whole new European Commission in office will now not take place next week as scheduled. At least a further week will be needed to arrange a hearing for Ms. Georgieva, with the final vote expected Feb. 9. But the delay could be longer if Ms. Jeleva's political allies seek revenge by trying to block nominees from center or center-left parties, or force them to switch portfolios. The start of the new team has already been delayed once because of difficulties in ratifying the E.U.'s new Lisbon Treaty. The episode is also a personal setback for the commission president, José Manuel Barroso, who had approved Bulgaria's nomination of Ms. Jeleva and had sent a letter to the Parliament declaring that he was satisfied by her assurances. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |