site.btaWrap-up: Bulgarian Commissioner-Designate Given Hearing by Two EP Committees, Gets High Marks

The Bulgarian candidate for the European Commission, Iliana Ivanova was heard Tuesday by two committees in the European Parliament. In her opening remarks, Ivanova said she is aware of the burden and responsibility to achieve a lot in a limited time. She spoke in Bulgarian, English, German and French.

Ivanova, who is Commissioner-designate for innovation, research, culture, education and youth, was questioned by the EP Industry, Research and Energy Committee and the Culture and Education Committee to assess her competences and suitability to replace Mariya Gabriel, who resigned as commissioner on May 15 to become Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. 

Early in the hearing Ivanova said: "My goal is to work closely with the EP, with the EU countries, and with international partners. I can only promise what I believe I can deliver."

She gave answers to 25 questions: one minute per question, followed by a one-minute answer from the candidate and a possible follow-up question from an MEP.

In her words, the EU research budget will never be enough, but it is important that every euro invested brings additional benefits. She explained that the European Commission could make recommendations for reforms in EU countries and one way of doing this would be through plans for recovery from the pandemic. Investing in science helps boost economic growth - if we don't do it now, the losses will be significant, Ivanova noted. 

Ivanova vowed to focus her efforts on supporting cultural diversity as a core European value and a clear mark of the European way of life. In her words, it is important that support for Ukraine is not delayed and goes to rebuilding the destroyed infrastructure. Ivanova pointed out that she would work for the rapid opening in Kyiv of a representative office of the Horizon Europe programme as well as an innovation centre.

She also said that she regrets to see the opportunities for young people to participate in European educational programmes being limited. She was referring to the decisions of the Hungarian authorities related to the work of universities. She said she is following the Commission's dialogue with Budapest and is aware that the talks are not making progress. She said she would try to be part of the solution and insisted that the dialogue must be maintained in search of a solution.

The hearing was immediately followed by a closed-door meeting in which the chairs and coordinators of the two committees carried out a preliminary assessment of Ivanova's suitability for the post.

Bulgarian Commissioner-designate Iliana Ivanova gave excellent answers at the joint hearing before two European Parliament committees in Brussels, EP Culture and Education Committee Chair Sabine Verheyen said. "We were very impressed by how far and how deep she was prepared. She answered questions in an adequate and excellent way," Verheyen said.

Verheyen said the MEPs "experienced today an excellent hearing".

The EP Industry, Research and Energy Committee Chair Cristian Busoi added that he highly appreciated Ivanova's self-confidence, strong leadership, good knowledge of the portfolio and very good communication skills. "I have very good expectations about the meeting with the coordinators of the two committees. I am sure Ivanova will be an excellent commissioner," he added. 

The final evaluation of the Conference of Presidents is expected to be announced on Wednesday evening. If the assessment is positive, the EP is expected to vote during the September 11-14 plenary session in Strasbourg on the appointment of Ivanova as EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth until the end of the term of the European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen next autumn.

Ivanova thanked for the opportunity she was given to discuss with the MEPs the challenges facing research, innovation, education, youth, culture and sport. She told reporters after the hearing that if she is confirmed, she will work tirelessly during the short time remaining of this EC tenure, to contribute as much as possible to the accomplishment of the set goals.