BNT EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH EC VICE-PRESIDENT DESIGNATE

The Bulgarian Kristalina Georgieva has been designated EC Vice-President and Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources. Soon after the President elect Jean-Claude Juncker unveiled his team, Ms. Georgieva gave an exclusive interview for the Bulgarian National Television (BNT).

BNT: Mrs. Georgieva, Congratulations! Wish you every success in your new position! You will be responsible for the budget and the human resources of the new European Commission. What exactly does this mean? What will your obligations be?

Kristalina Georgieva: Congratulations to our country too. I will be the Vice-President responsible for the budget and human resources. This means managing the Commission's annual budget of 140 billion euro and about 30,000 people who work in the EC directorates. In addition, I will be responsible for financial control i.e. how effectively we use the money and how good our accountability is to the EU citizens.

BNT: How does your new positions concern Bulgaria?

Kristalina Georgieva: I think I have done a lot for Bulgaria. I remember, there were issues with the absorption of the funds related to the construction of “Danube Bridge 2”. I proposed to the Commission to consolidate the Bulgarian and the Romanian part of “Danube Bridge 2” and that’s how we saved the funding. Now the bridge is built and people use it. In my new job, I have the obligation to make sure that the European money work as much as possible to the benefit of our economy, of our people, of all Europeans, and of course, Bulgarians. Particularly regarding Bulgaria, the problem so far has not been insufficient funding from Europe, but insufficient absorption capacity. We have 16 billion euro for the next programme period. My obligation is to help Bulgaria absorb this money to the best possible benefit.

BNT: Since our last meeting soon after the Extraordinary EU Summit on 30th of August, until today, several versions appeared regarding what your role would be in the new European Commission? What is the truth? Was there any last minute change in the suggested portfolio?

Kristalina Georgiva: I saw those speculations. I can say that from the first meeting with Mr. Juncker we agreed on this portfolio, this area of responsibility and the Vice-President’s post. I will be coordinating all Commissioners because they all have responsibilities related to the budget and human resources. I have no idea where the speculations came from, but I can firmly say that no changes have ever been discussed.

BNT: In other words, you will have the role of a manager of other Commissioners. You are one of the Vice-Presidents of the Commission and you will supervise at least two relevant Commissioners in your area of responsibility.

Kristalina Georgieva: I will have 2 Directorates General under my responsibility – DG “Budget” and DG “Human Resources and Security”. This is the difference with other EC Vice-Presidents who will have coordinating roles on particular topics, but will not have Directorates reporting to them. Also, together with the first Vice –President of the Commission, I will guide the work of all Commissioners because they all need budgets and staff to do the relevant work.

BNT: You took part in the campaign for at least 10 women in the new EU Executive. But in the Juncker Commission there will again be 9 female Commissioners? In your opinion, was gender balance achieved?

Kristalina Georgieva: 9 female Commissioners is what we had in the previous Commission. I hoped there would be at least 10 now. As the person in charge of human resources, I hope we will achieve a greater representation of women in management positions over the next 5 years and that in the future EU Executive there will be more female Commissioners. And this is not because I am motivated by feminism, but because I think for a country to be successful, it is important to use the talent of all the people, women and men. When there is a balance, which excludes some of the talents of Europe, when such capacity is not included in the governance of Europe, this is not beneficial to us.

BNT: Why were you appointed? At some point it was not very sure that you would be the Bulgarian choice for a Commissioner? What stimulated the decision of the Bulgarian government to choose you and the invitation from Mr. Juncker?

Kristalina Georgieva: I will start by mentioning the former PM, Mr. Orehsraski who first nominated me as a candidate. I thank the Bulgarian government and the President. We had the courage to participate in the competition for the position of High Representative (for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy). In my opinion, it is good for Bulgaria to show that we are confident as a nation. And of course this helped for better positioning of our country when the portfolios were allocated. Let’s wish to have a Bulgarian as President in the next EC.

The interview was taken by BNT’s Brussels Bureau Chief Vladislav Velev.

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